


History in the Making

by Inkandquills, writersstudy



Series: Untitled Series [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Ableism, Alternate Universe - College/University, Deaf Character, Family Problems, Homophobia, M/M, Parental Issues, Roleplay Style, That stuff comes later though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-08-06 18:55:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 40,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16393277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkandquills/pseuds/Inkandquills, https://archiveofourown.org/users/writersstudy/pseuds/writersstudy
Summary: Taeyong just wanted to get through grad school without collapsing when another student was added onto his tutoring list. Little did he know, it would be the best addition of his life.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is the result of roleplay-style writing where Michelle (Inkandquills) and I (writersstudy) go back and forth from the perspectives of different characters. I am Taeyong, she is Kun.

Kun’s phone buzzed on the table and he flipped it over to reveal an email notification. He didn’t have to read the title to know it was his tutoring assignment for his history class. He unlocked his phone and skimmed the email, the only thing he paid attention to was the name at the bottom: Lee Taeyong.

Taeyong hummed to himself as he copied his form letter into a blank email. He had been assigned a new student to tutor, but he usually preferred to make first contact. He inserted the student’s name - Qian Kun - into the form and sent it, introducing himself and asking when and where he would like to meet.

Just as Kun was about to lock his phone another email came in. _Damn, this guy works fast_ , Kun thought as he opened the email from none other than Lee Taeyong. He skimmed the email and made a mental note to respond later. He put his phone back down and turned back to his lab report.

Taeyong was a little annoyed that Qian Kun didn’t reply immediately. He had even marked the email as important! With a small huff, he returned to grading papers for the history class he TA’ed - The Hidden History of the Queer Community.

After a few hours, Kun grew frustrated of his lab report and slammed his laptop closed and threw it into his bag. He opened his phone to reply to messages he missed and realized he forgot to email his tutor back. He typed a short reply saying he wasn’t free until Friday afternoon, answered the rest of his messages, and then pocketed his phone. Kun quickly left the library and headed to his car thinking about the warm shower that awaited him when he got home.

Taeyong was annoyed by how short - and late - Qian Kun’s reply was. His information said he was a senior, so he was probably some sort of science major that had left his gen eds until the end and was now going to act like he was too good for a basic freshman history course. Taeyong could already feel the headaches this was going to bring. He sent an email back, suggesting Friday at three and including his phone number.

Kun threw his backpack on the couch and headed to the kitchen to heat up leftovers. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and was not surprised to see another email from Taeyong. He simply replied “Sounds good,” left his phone on the counter, and headed to the bathroom to take a much needed shower. He didn’t save Taeyong’s number in his phone, not seeing any reason they couldn’t communicate through email for the rest of the semester.

Taeyong was glad that Qian Kun’s next response was quicker. He sent another reply, saying that he had reserved a study room on the upper floor of the grad school library and asking Kun to “please contact me through text henceforth, as I don’t have access to my email when I’m not on wifi. Thank you.”

Kun reluctantly pulled himself out the shower, got dressed, and brushed his teeth. He snagged his phone from the counter before heading to bed. To his annoyance, there was yet another email from Taeyong. Kun reluctantly saved his number and sent him a text saying who he was before setting his alarm and putting his phone down for the night. He rolled over and quickly made a mental list of all the work he had to do tomorrow before falling asleep.

Taeyong saved Qian Kun’s number when the senior finally texted him. He then set his phone aside and opened his laptop. He had three different essays due before this tutoring appointment, and only one of them was finished. Taeyong took a bite of his reheated dinner and got to work.

Kun’s alarm rang much too early that next morning and he groaned as he rolled over to silence it. To his surprise, there was no text from Taeyong so he hoped that meant his tutor - he hated that word - would leave him alone until Friday. He rolled out of bed and dragged himself into the bathroom to get ready. After checking the time, he ran into the kitchen to grab a granola bar for breakfast and snagged his backpack off the couch to head to his car. If there was one thing Qian Kun hated more than the idea of having a tutor, it was 8am lectures.

Taeyong nearly overslept his alarm. He hadn’t gotten to bed until almost four in the morning, and had to be up at seven for his 8am TA lecture. He loved the class, but it was so goddamn early. He got dressed quickly and made his way out to his car. He sent a text to Qian Kun before driving. “What book does your class use? I need to get it out of the undergrad library today.”

Kun practically sprinted from his car to the lecture hall, sliding into a seat just in time for the professor to begin. Leaving his 8am with a headache was not uncommon for Kun, but it was only made worse when he saw a text from Taeyong. So much for having his last day of freedom. Kun scoffed at the message. He had no idea what book his class was using, having opted to rely on his notes and the internet to save money. Once he got to the library, he pulled up his syllabus and sent the book title and author to Taeyong before dropping his phone into his bag and pulling up his lab report.

Taeyong wasn’t surprised to see that the class was covering basic material. He stopped by the library on his way back to his car to check out the textbook and meet his brother for coffee. Mark was just a freshman, studying political science on a pre-law track, and Taeyong always treated him to breakfast when he was on the undergrad campus.

Kun only pulled himself away from his laptop to get lunch. As much as he loved his genetics lab, he really hated lab reports, especially this one, considering all it did was make his headache worse. Kun gave himself a fifteen minute break to scarf down a sandwich and crawl back to the library until his late class. He realized as soon as he sat down that he forgot to check his phone, but he wanted to avoid any unnecessary conversation with Taeyong and his lab report that was due tomorrow was much more important.

Taeyong finished his classes on Thursdays around four in the afternoon, so he went home and immediately took a nap. When he woke up, it was already eight and he felt like hell. With a groan, he ordered a pizza, opened his laptop, and sent a quick message to Qian Kun, reminding him of their meeting.

Kun once again dragged himself from the spot he lives in more than his own apartment for his late class. Luckily, this class was just a senior seminar and the professor always let them out early. Kun once again found himself zoning out in class and was so grateful he didn’t have to take notes. After class, he decided to check his phone for the first time all day. Lo and behold, there was a message from none other than Lee Taeyong. _Why is he sending a reminder? Does he think I’m an incompetent freshman?_ Kun simply replied with a thumbs up and pulled out his laptop.

Taeyong felt satisfied when he finally hit submit on the last essay. With a yawn, he put his laptop away and flopped down onto his pillow, reaching for his phone. He didn’t have any classes on Fridays, so he planned on making a pre-test of sorts for Qian Kun in the morning. For now, he needed sleep.

Kun reread his lab report for the hundredth time and finally deemed it ready to submit. After submitting it online, he ran to the printers, which were thankfully working. He dragged himself to his car and was relieved when he finally pulled into his driveway. A light dinner and a quick shower later, Kun finally crawled into bed. He set his alarm and laid down, not sure which one he was dreading more: turning in his lab report or finally meeting Lee Taeyong.

Taeyong sent a few snaps back and forth with Yuta, his best friend, before finally putting his phone away for the night. For some reason, he was nervous about his first meeting with Qian Kun. The senior didn’t seem all that interested in actually learning.

Kun’s alarm went off a little later today, but it was still too early for him. Fridays were bad enough with his lab, but today was even worse with the addition of his meeting. He debated texting Taeyong that he didn’t feel good and couldn’t make the session, but he knew that would just be delaying the inevitable. Sighing, he threw his dishes in the sink, and headed to his car. The drive seemed endless and his lab felt even longer. Kun didn’t understand why he was so nervous for his meeting. Staring at the clock on his phone throughout lunch had, unfortunately, not stopped time. He swallowed nervously, threw his trash away, and headed to the grad school library for this meeting.

Taeyong was halfway through drafting a quiz for Kun when one of the other tutors poked her head in the door. She asked if they could switch rooms, since she needed a projector and the room she had booked didn’t have one. Taeyong agreed easily and texted Kun the new room number before heading upstairs.

Kun was outside room 203 right on time, but he stopped when he saw a girl animatedly explaining something to a clearly confused freshman. He pulled out his phone to text Taeyong, but he didn’t have to. The only thing Kun paid attention to was the new room number and he grumbled to himself about having to move as he headed upstairs, taking them two at a time.

Taeyong was a little bothered that Kun was late, but it gave him a chance to check over the mini-quiz before printing it. He left his things spread across the table and went to find a printer, student card in hand. Kun reached the new room and saw someone’s things strew across the table. After catching a glimpse of the textbook he was supposed to have bought, he slipped into the room, assuming the rest of the papers to be Taeyong’s. He slipped into an empty chair and pulled out his phone, trying to distract himself from the torture that was to ensue following Taeyong’s inevitable return.

Taeyong had to go down three floors to find a working printer, but he eventually managed to get the page printed and hurried back upstairs. He was glad to see Kun there when he returned. “Hello,” he said as he entered the study room, “you must be Kun. I’m Lee Taeyong; it’s nice to meet you.”

Kun looked up at the sound of an unfamiliar voice and quickly slipped his phone into his pocket. “Uh, hi, yes, I’m Kun. It’s nice to meet you too,” Kun stuttered, taken aback by his tutor’s appearance. He was certainly not expecting bubblegum pink hair.

Taeyong smiled as he took his seat and gathered his papers together, stuffing them into a folder and out of the way. He passed Kun the paper he had just printed, explaining that it was just to see what he knew and what he didn’t.

Kun nodded and grabbed a pen from his backpack. He skimmed the paper and began filling in answers where he could. He wanted to be annoyed that he was being forced to take a practice quiz, but he was more surprised that Taeyong went through the effort of making the quiz rather than just asking him the questions.

Taeyong sat back and pulled out his phone while Kun took his little quiz. He went onto Blackboard to check how many of his students had submitted their assignment from the night before and was pleased to see that nearly all of them were in before deadline. With a small smile, he tucked his phone away and pulled out papers to begin grading.

Kun’s eyebrows furrowed in frustration as he struggled to answer the questions. They weren’t hard per say, but Kun rarely paid attention well enough to retain what the professor lectured on. After reading over the questions again to make sure there was nothing else he knew, Kun sheepishly slid the paper towards Taeyong.

Taeyong wasn’t really surprised to see that barely half of the questions were filled in. From the look of it, Kun hadn’t paid attention at all and was just going off of what he remembered from high school. “Do you have a copy of your syllabus?” Taeyong asked, setting the paper aside.

“I can get it,” Kun replied as he slipped his laptop out of his bag. He quickly pulled up his syllabus and spun his laptop around to show Taeyong. Taeyong skimmed over the syllabus and nodded. “Can you print me a copy of that? And any quizzes or assignments that you have access to. I never had this professor, so I don’t know how he teaches,” he said, “I know you’re just taking this for the graduation credit, so I’m going to teach you to the assignments, but I need to know how the professor formats first.”

“He lectures a mile a minute and doesn’t post his power points online,” Kun said dryly as he sent the syllabus to the printer. “But he lets us keeps our exams,” Kun added as he reached into his bag and pulled out the two essay exams he had taken. He passed the exams to Taeyong, trying to avoid looking at the grades on them.

“Yeah, I avoided taking him for a reason,” Taeyong said as he took the exams from Kun, unintentionally sucking in a breath when he saw the grades on top. He skimmed through the answers and was glad to see the Kun had at least made an effort, even if most of it was wrong. “What do you think you struggle with most with history? The chronology or the concepts?”

“It’s just so much information to remember and I don’t know what he deems important enough to ask about,” Kun sighed. Taeyong hummed in understanding. “His format is two part questions with a history component and a theoretical component, right?” he asked, looking at the exams again.

“Yup,” Kun answered. “And his lectures are vague so even if I do get good notes from a unit, it’s never enough to answer one of his questions.”

“Do you have some sort of quiz or exam for every unit? Like, on a consistent schedule?” Taeyong asked, trying to mentally calculate exactly how he was going to help Kun. “Yeah, every week we have a one question short answer quiz, but I left all of those at home,” Kun explained.

“Can you bring them next time we meet?” Taeyong asked, “I’m gonna try to contact your professor and get his lesson plan if I can. How often do you have this class?”

“Yeah sure. Just twice a week. It’s a Tuesday/Thursday class and the quizzes are every Thursday,” Kun said, twirling his pen between his fingers.

“So I want to meet Wednesdays to give you a good review of Tuesday’s class before the Thursday quiz. Would you want to meet Fridays and just go over the quiz or Mondays so we can go over the last week’s quiz and do an overview of the upcoming material?” Taeyong asked, pulling out his planner and flipping it open. “I’m only available after six on Wednesdays, so we can move to Tuesday nights if you have a night class.”

“Twice a week really isn’t necessary so just Wednesday nights to prepare for the quiz is fine for me,” Kun answered, eyes widening slightly as he realized how busy Taeyong’s schedule was.

“We have to do twice a week or the tutoring center won’t pay me full time rate, which I need because I am a broke ass grad student,” Taeyong explained, flipping through the planner to mark down Wednesday nights, “trust me, I wish I could only do one, because I am a grad student and don’t really have the time to do two, but those are the rules.”

“Oh, wow, that’s actually pretty shitty. Monday afternoons are fine for me,” Kun said quietly.

Taeyong scrunched his nose as he looked at his Monday schedule. “Could you do late morning? I get out of my TA lecture at ten thirty and I don’t need to be on the grad campus until noon, so we could meet in the cafe at the library in between those times?”

“My genetics lecture ends at ten fifty so after that is fine,” Kun said. He was getting antsy and hoped the housekeeping would be over soon.

“So eleven to eleven forty-five would work?” Taeyong asked, “it’s short enough to just do a basic review and overview.”

“Yeah, that’s perfect,” Kun replied as he closed his laptop and slipped it into his bag. “Do you want to keep the exams?”

“Um, I’ll make copies when we walk down to the printer?” Taeyong said, “otherwise I’ll forget to give them back and you’re probably going to need them for the final.” He put his grading and his planner away and laid the exams out in front of him.

“Okay, sounds good,” Kun said as he stood up. He grabbed his bag and followed Taeyong to the nearest working printer. After swiping his card and waiting what felt like an eternity for the printer to click on, Kun handed the syllabus to Taeyong and stepped aside so he could make copies.

Taeyong made the copies and handed the originals back to Kun. “There’s no point in meeting this Monday unless you want to go over the material on these exams,” he said once he finished.

“Um, not really, but will your pay get docked if we don’t meet twice next week?” Kun asked. He didn’t want to meet anymore then necessary, but he felt bad about the tutoring center’s rule and extra help couldn’t hurt.

“Nah, they’ll just count our weeks from Wednesday to Tuesday so that today and next Monday get included as one pay week,” Taeyong said, “it’s honestly a stupid system, but it’s easy money.” He tucked the copies into his bag and blew his cotton candy hair out of his eyes, looking at Kun.

“Oh I see. Well in that case, I’ll see you on Wednesday.” Kun swallowed nervously. He hadn’t really paid attention to what the grad looked like until now. Quickly realizing he was staring, Kun dropped his eyes to the floor and shifted his weight to his other foot.

Taeyong nodded and smiled. He was ready to head home and start his weekend, so he bid farewell to Kun and headed out of the library to his car. He texted Yuta on his way, telling him to come over and bring his roommate, Johnny.

Kun mumbled a goodbye and headed to his last class of the day. The meeting hadn’t gone as horrible as he was expecting and Taeyong seemed to be pretty knowledgeable. _Maybe this won’t be so bad_ , he thought as he slipped into his seat. He pulled out his notebook and began copying the information on the board, not quite being able to push the image of Taeyong from his mind.

Taeyong really wondered why he kept inviting Johnny over, despite having known him since they were kids. The older grad student always brought weed with him, which he and Yuta would smoke then bully Taeyong into smoking, which made him _high_ and _giggly_ and _cute_ and _awful_. He watched with crossed arms as Johnny rolled a blunt on his coffee table, already knowing that he was going to regret this weekend.

For once, the drive home felt short and Kun had the energy to cook himself a legitimate meal. After cleaning the kitchen and putting the leftovers away, Kun took a much needed shower. Within a half an hour he was laying in bed, scrolling through his phone. After a few minutes, he put his phone down and rolled over, grateful he didn’t have to set an alarm for the morning.

Taeyong groaned as he scrolled through Johnny and Yuta’s snap stories the next morning. They were filled with videos of him, high off his ass, rambling about how cute the “dumb Chinese history guy” he met was, and how he looked like a kitten, and oh shit, kittens are cute too. Taeyong hoped Kun never saw these. “Take them down,” he whined to Yuta, who was in his kitchen making coffee.

Kun stretched before dragging himself out of bed and heading to the kitchen to make eggs. Afterward, he cracked his trusty laptop open and booted it up so he could get a headstart on his forensic chemistry assignment. While waiting for his computer to load, he decided to check Snapchat. He breezed through the stories not paying much attention, until a glimpse of bubblegum pink hair caught his eye. His eyes widened in surprise as he watched Taeyong ramble about him. Kun placed his phone on the counter and ran his hands through his hair. _Lee Taeyong thinks I’m cute?_

“He’s soooo dumb but soooo cute, Yutaaaaa, he’s a kittyyyyy,” Yuta imitated snidely from his place at the counter. Taeyong whined again and dropped his head onto the island countertop with a sad thud. “You and Johnny are never allowed at my house again,” he grumbled.

Kun spent the rest of his weekend either nose deep in his chemistry assignment or tapping through snap stories, specifically Johnny and Yuta’s. He didn’t realize how quickly the weekend had gone until he was rolling out of bed on Monday morning.

Taeyong already had a raging headache, and it was only 10am. His TA lecture had let out early, so he dragged himself over to the cafe and ordered the largest coffee he could. Letting Johnny and Yuta come over was always a mistake, because he could never get rid of them and it led to wilder weekends than he ever wanted. How he was going to get through the day, he had no idea.

Kun got out of genetics on time for once and headed straight for the library cafe. It didn’t take long to spot Taeyong and he headed over to the table. “Good morning, how was your weekend?” Kun asked politely as he placed his laptop on the table and fished the quizzes out of his backpack.

Taeyong startled when Kun sat down, as he’d been zoning out while staring at his laptop for the last half hour. “Huh? Oh, it was...good,” he said lamely. His eyes were still bloodshot and his voice was raspy. Kun wasn’t too sure how to respond so he settled with a simple, “Oh good.” He passed the quizzes to Taeyong and hoped the grad didn’t know he saw the Snapchat story.

Taeyong took the quizzes and tucked them into his bag before taking out his copies of the exams. “I’m gonna make copies of those at home and I’ll get them back to you on Wednesday,” he said, “do you wanna do chronology or concepts first?”

“I really wish neither was an option, but I guess chronology,” Kun replied. He truly didn’t want to be doing history this early in the morning, but he kept reminding himself that this was all for graduation.

“Okay,” Taeyong said, nodding slightly as he tried to pull himself together, “give me a basic timeline of World War Two. You can write it down if you need to; I’m gonna go get another coffee.”

Kun nodded and watched the grad walk away before ripping a piece of paper out of his notebook. He grabbed a pen and began to jot down the basics of the timeline he remembered. His tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on recalling as much information as possible before Taeyong’s return.

Taeyong returned a few minutes later with a large coffee and dropped back into his seat. “Okay, timeline, go,” he said, fighting the urge to yawn. He felt bad that he was so out of it for their first actual tutoring session, but he blamed it entirely on Johnny and Yuta.

Kun stopped writing and slid the paper across the table. “This is all I can think of,” he said slightly embarrassed by how bare the timeline was.

“Hey, you got the dates and you know Hitler was involved, that’s better than half of my freshmen already,” Taeyong mumbled. His eyes scanned the page and he nodded. “Honestly, you have a pretty good grasp on the chronology. How long does your professor usually give you for these assessments?”

Kun smiled shyly at Taeyong’s positive reaction. Maybe, just maybe, he did stand a chance in this class. “Only fifteen minutes, but sometimes he pushes it to twenty,” Kun replied hurriedly. He hope Taeyong hadn’t noticed his hesitation.

Maybe it was the exhaustion, or maybe the hangover, but Taeyong had to physically wait for his brain to catch up when he saw Kun’s small smile. “Right, yeah,” he said, blinking rapidly, “can you explain fascism to me?”

“Well, the only other name I can think of is Mussolini, but it’s basically a dictatorship where the person in charge rigidly controls every action of the country and punishes anyone who opposes,” Kun was pretty confident in his answer, but it definitely didn’t come off that way.

Taeyong nodded along with the definition Kun gave. Technically, it was right, if a little general. “I think part of your problem is that you’re not confident enough in what you know, so you freak out with the time constraint and just...word vomit on the paper. You also spend too much time on chronology and not enough on the concepts. Your professor doesn’t actually care if you know every tiny movement of the German army during World War Two; he just wants to make sure you know why the war happened.”

Kun simply nodded along. Taeyong wasn’t wrong; he wasn’t confident in his knowledge. He could easily teach a course on crime scene analysis, but for some reason most of the information he learned in history class slipped his mind as soon as it was spoken. Kun sat there for a minute, thinking about how he was going to have to completely rework his studying strategy. He didn’t realize his mouth had slipped into a frown as he began to slightly panic about what he was going to do.

“So what we’re gonna do to work around that is give you a mock exam. So on Wednesday, we’ll really go over the material again, then I’ll give you fifteen minutes to do one of these, then we’ll go over that together and hopefully that’ll help you panic less about the actual thing,” Taeyong explained.

“Oh, that actually sounds great,” Kun as he began to relax. He was finally warming up to this whole idea of tutoring and was hoping he would only need a couple of sessions before he was able to find a new study strategy that worked.

“Great!” Taeyong said with a smile. He glanced at his phone to check the time; he still had twenty minutes before he had to go. “Okay, so let’s go over this week’s material then,” he said, “I believe it was the Korean War?”

“Yeah, it is,” Kun replied as he flipped open his notebook and passed what could barely be considered notes across the table.

Taeyong pushed the notes back without looking at them. “Tell me about it,” he said, “your ability to take notes has nothing to do with how much you actually learn.”

Kun sighed and recited as much as he could remember, which was really just a basic overview of the timeline of the war. As he was talking, he was able to add a few sporadic details he had remembered from the lecture.

“Good,” Taeyong said, “that’s a lot more than your notes have. How were the UN, Russia, and China involved?”

“Well, China and Russia helped North Korea push South Korea all the way to Busan, which resulted in the UN coming to South Korea’s defense,” Kun answered.

“Good!” Taeyong said, “how did it end in the 50s?” He was going to be very disappointed if he found out that Kun paid no attention to the news.

“A treaty was signed that stopped the fighting and split the peninsula into North and South Korea,” Kun said, wishing all of the quiz questions were this easy.

Taeyong nodded. “These are too easy for you,” he said with a smile, “what’s Communism? How does it differ between China, Russia, and North Korea?”

“Um, communism is when most, if not all, resources and property are owned collectively by society instead of individually. I’m not really sure the exact differences between the three countries though,” Kun’s voice grew quieter as he reached the end of his sentence.

“I’m still working on getting the professor’s lesson plan, but we can go over that stuff on Wednesday,” Taeyong said, “does that class have a TA?”

Kun nodded, happy to be done with Taeyong’s little pop quiz, “Yeah it does. His name is Moon Taeil. I’m not sure if you know him or not,” Kun said as he slipped his notebook and laptop into backpack.

“Oh, yeah, I know Taeil hyung,” Taeyong said as he gathered his things, “I’ll talk to him and make a more defined plan for you, okay?”

“That sounds great. Thank you,” Kun said, flashing a smile in Taeyong’s direction as he stood up from the table.

“I really have run or I’ll be late for class,” Taeyong said as he slung his bag over his shoulder, “I’ll see you on Wednesday? Six thirty?”

“Yeah, see you on Wednesday,” Kun replied as he headed to the counter to grab a coffee.

Taeyong headed out to his car, waving to Kun over his shoulder. He was going to be late for his lecture but he honestly didn’t even care. It was worth it.

Kun slid back into his chair, coffee in hand. He had a few hours to kill until his lab, but he couldn’t focus on any of his work. He opted to scroll through his phone instead, but the only thing on his mind was his cute, pink-haired tutor.

Taeyong nearly fell asleep in the middle of his final lecture of the day. His headache hadn’t gotten better, but that might have been because of the sheer amount of caffeine in his system. With a yawn, he dragged himself back to his car so he could go pick up Mark from his night class.

Kun loved being a forensics major, he really did. What he did not love, however, was a three hour chemistry lab. It was his most draining class of the week and it didn’t help that he could barely pay attention to what he was supposed to be doing. He had never been more happy for his class to be over and he practically sprinted to the student center to get dinner.

Taeyong pulled into a parking spot in front of the student center, waiting for Mark to get out of class. Their parents weren’t ready for their youngest son to leave the nest, but they also didn’t want him riding the train home so late, so he stayed at Taeyong’s apartment once a week. They were both trying to convince their parents to just let him move in with Taeyong, but it was a long process, considering Taeyong himself no longer had a relationship with them. With a yawn, Taeyong leaned his seat back and fell asleep.

Kun left almost immediately after eating and headed to his car. He usually went to the library after class, but he couldn’t bring himself to today. As he was walking, his eyes scanned the parking lot and he froze when he saw a mop of bubblegum pink hair in the driver’s seat of a dark blue Subaru. Taeyong’s eyes were closed, but he still had his glasses on, leaving Kun to assume he had fallen asleep waiting for someone. Kun shook his head and kept walking. He wasn’t sure how long he had stopped for, but he hoped it wasn’t too long. He got in his car and suddenly he was parked in his driveway. Kun wasn’t entirely sure how he got home, but he wasn’t worried about it. He climbed into bed in record time. The image of Taeyong’s sleeping face danced across his mind until he drifted off to sleep.

Taeyong jerked awake when Mark got in the car, already talking a mile a minute about some cute boy in his class. The grad student just nodded along, mentally making a list of everything he still needed to do. As he was driving, he heard sirens but couldn’t tell where they were. “Ambulance on the left, hyung,” Mark told him after touching his shoulder to get his attention.

Kun had reached the point in the semester where he could complete his entire morning routine half asleep and not forget anything. The only difference between this Tuesday and the rest of the semester was that he actually paid attention to his history lecture. He wanted to be somewhat prepared for his meeting with Taeyong tomorrow.

Taeyong was glad that his Tuesday schedule was fairly light in comparison to the other days. He got to sleep in a little bit, which meant that Mark took the train from his apartment for his morning class and Taeyong was alone when he woke up. He shut off his alarm, which was vibrating his entire bed against the wall, and got up to take a shower.

Kun once again found himself in “his” seat in the library, bent over his chemistry textbook. He desperately wanted to finish this project tonight, but the odds were not in his favor. Soon he grew frustrated, and slammed his textbook closed and threw it into his backpack. As he went to zip up the bag, he caught sight of his history notebook. He debated reviewing the material, but quickly decided against it. He was exhausted and it was Taeyong’s job to help him study.

Taeyong had a bounce in his step as he walked into the undergrad library, heading for the cafe. The extra sleep had done wonders for his mood and he wasn’t even dreading his three hour lecture later. Today, he decided, he was going to update his resume.

Kun stood up and stretched before putting his books away. He wanted to leave a few minutes early so he could grab a coffee before class. As he stepped into the cafe, he noticed Taeyong sitting at a table in the corner, eyes scanning his laptop screen. Kun groaned internally and wondered how he always managed to run into Taeyong. It’s like the universe was playing a cruel trick on him. He ordered his coffee and stood off to the side with his head buried in his phone, hoping the grad didn’t notice him.

Taeyong was on a roll. He had breezed through his resume, even sent it off to a few publishing houses, and was now working on grading papers for his TA lecture. The world was really on his side this morning. His drink even had less ice in it so he had more to actually drink. Sighing, he leaned back to crack his back and caught sight of Kun on the other side of the cafe.

Kun ran out of messages to answer so he slipped his phone into his pocket and braved looking up. There was still a couple people in front of him and he was getting antsy, he didn’t want to be later for class. Kun’s eyes wandered around the cafe, looking at the different students seater throughout the cafe. His breath hitched in his throat and he froze when he locked eyes with Taeyong.

Taeyong was surprised when he made eye contact with Kun, but he smiled widely and waved a little. He assumed that the senior wouldn’t want to sit with him - after all, he was hesitant to even meet him for tutoring. Either way, it was still nice to see him.

Kun smiled politely, and nodded his head, but turned away quickly, grateful that his name was called. He thanked the barista and headed for the door. He didn’t dare look at Taeyong as he headed to class, and instead kept his eyes forward.

Taeyong felt his mood dampen a little bit. Sure, they weren’t friends in any capacity but damn, did Kun have to make his dislike so obvious?

Despite his coffee, Kun was barely able to stay awake in seminar. His professor even held them late to discuss their final presentation requirements. Kun practically sprinted from the room when the class was dismissed. He still had his chemistry project to finish for the next day, so off to the library he went until he was too tired to keep his eyes open.

Taeyong dragged himself down to the undergrad library after his lecture. Mark was staying the night with him again because he had to stay late to work on a project, so Taeyong was going to work on his thesis while he waited for his brother to finish. He grabbed an iced coffee on his way over, found himself an empty study room, and got to work.

Kun put the finishing touches on his project and heaved a sigh of relief. He was too exhausted to read it over again and instead relied on spell-check to catch any mistakes. Once he was satisfied, he sent the document to the printer and packed up. Of course, the one day he was barely awake enough to stand, there was only one printer in the whole library working and there was a line for it. Kun grumbled to himself in annoyance, and stood at the back of the line hoping none of the students in front of him had large documents to print.

Taeyong had to print out his students’ papers so he could grade them properly and mark them up with red pen, so he sent the entire batch to the printer. It was a lot, so he waited off to the side, letting students with smaller jobs go ahead of him.

It was finally Kun’s turn to print but as he stepped up to swipe his card, he noticed Taeyong standing to the side. “Do you need to print something?” he asked politely.

Taeyong was leaning on the wall, playing on his phone and occasionally looking up to check on the line. He had turned the volume on his hearing aids down so he could concentrate on his work without all the background noise, but he’d forgotten to turn them back up. As a result, he just barely heard someone talking to him. He looked up and saw none other than Kun looking at him expectantly. “Sorry, did you say something?” he asked, discreetly fixing his aids.

“Oh, I was just wondering if you needed to print something,” Kun repeated, “I don’t have a lot to print so you can go ahead of me if you need to.” He truly did want to go home, but Taeyong looked like he was standing there for a while.

“No, I have a ton,” Taeyong said, shaking his head, “you go ahead so you can get home.” Considering that he would probably be keeping Kun late the next night, he didn’t want to keep him any longer now.

“It’s not a big deal. I don’t have anywhere to be,” Kun replied as he stepped to the side, “Save us both the argument and just go ahead. What do you have to print?” Kun asked with a smile. The grad looked tired as well and Kun didn’t want him to get stuck waiting for the line to clear up. Plus he didn’t mind a little company considering he hardly had time to talk to people during the day.

“Thirty-five six pages essays,” Taeyong said, deadpan, “I have to wait for my brother anyway, so there’s no point in holding you and everyone else up any longer.” He loved being a TA, and technically printing the papers out was a decision he had made, not a requirement, but it was really tiring sometimes.

Kun raised his hands in mock surrender and stepped up to the printer. “Damn that’s a lot of essays,” he commented as he swiped his card.

“I’m a TA for a history class,” Taeyong explained, “they submitted half of their final essay yesterday and the professor is super lazy about grading.” As much as he loved the class, he couldn’t stand this professor. He wouldn’t do any of his own busywork, but would reprimand Taeyong for being lazy if he asked the professor to take over grading for a day.

“Oh that’s horrible. I don’t think I could ever be a TA, especially for a professor like that,” Kun said as he selected his project and hit ‘print,’ “I didn’t know you have a brother. Does he go here too?”

“Yeah, he’s a freshman,” Taeyong said, nodding, “he doesn’t live on campus though, so he’s staying with me tonight instead of going home.” He pulled his phone out and texted Mark, asking how much longer he was going to be. He didn’t mean to rush the boy, he just wanted to know.

“Oh, that’s nice to have some family here. I’d love to meet him one day,” Kun said, watching Taeyong type something on his phone. Suddenly, the printer began beeping and the screen began to flash an error message. “No, no, no, please don’t break now. This project is due tomorrow morning,” Kun begged, but he was out of luck as ‘paper jam’ continued to blink across the screen. He began to panic; it was much past closing and he would have no time to print his project in the morning.

“Oh, shit, that’s not good,” Taeyong said, taking a peek at the message on the screen. He ducked down and pulled out the tray that the screen indicated, peering inside. He tried reaching inside, but even his skinny arm wasn’t small enough. “It’s too far back for me to reach,” he said apologetically as he stood up.

Kun knew it was hopeless, but he knelt down anyway and slipped his arm inside. He cursed softly in Chinese when his arm wouldn’t reach. “Sorry,” he murmured as he stood up. “What do we do now?” he asked with a dejected sigh. His mind was running a mile a minute, and he ran his hands through his hair as he tried to think of a solution.

“I have a printer at home,” Taeyong said slowly, “if you send me what you need printed, I can print it and give it to you tomorrow morning?” It seemed like a forward suggestion, considering they barely knew each other.

“That would be amazing, but I have an 8am tomorrow morning. I wouldn’t want you coming all the way here that early just for my paper. I really do appreciate it though,” Kun said with a soft smile. He was surprised Taeyong had offered and was really appreciative of the gesture. He sighed as he accepted his fate of having to get to campus early in hopes of finding a working printer in the student center.

“It’s fine, my TA lecture is at 8am so I’ll have to be here anyway,” Taeyong said dismissively, “my stuff can wait a day or two. Yours can’t.”

“You are a lifesaver, thank you so much! I can email you the document when I get home,” Kun said as relief flooded through his body, “I owe you.” He stifled a yawn as a wave of exhaustion hit him.

Taeyong waved him off. “Just make sure you come ready to study tomorrow night,” he said. His phone buzzed in his pocket with Mark saying he was done.

Kun nodded vigorously, “I will! See you tomorrow and thank you so much again.” He headed to his car, happy to be finally heading home after a long day that turned out to be even longer. Kun found himself smiling as he climbed into his car. It was nice to talk to Taeyong outside of a tutoring session. The grad was very sweet and Kun wondered how he was ever so against working with him.

Taeyong went back to his study room to pack up his things and headed down to the lobby to meet Mark. He yawned and leaned against a statue, glad that he would be home soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Kun grabbed a quick snack from his kitchen before hopping in the shower. He quickly got dressed and set his alarm as he brushed his teeth. He was barely awake as he slipped into bed and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

“You know, if you let me take the train home, mom and dad don’t have to know,” Mark said when he finally met up with Taeyong. “They’ll know,” the elder replied as he unlocked the car.

Kun blinked his eyes open and was confused when his room was still dark. He rolled over and grabbed his phone to check the time. Kun groaned as he realized it was only 3:30 am. He laid back down and tried to fall back asleep, but he found himself tossing and turning. Eventually, he gave up and decided to scroll through his phone until he was tired enough to fall back asleep. He hoped it was soon because he couldn’t afford to be tired for his meeting with Taeyong.

Mark had long since gone to bed, but Taeyong was still up, working on his manuscript. He finally glanced at the clock and realized with a shock that it was nearly four in the morning. He also realized that Kun had never sent over his report. He texted the senior a reminder, hoping he would see it when he woke up.

Kun was surprised when a text alert came through. He switched to his messages and was even more confused when he saw it was Taeyong. He leapt out of bed when he finished reading the message and grabbed his laptop from his bag. He had no idea how he managed to forget his project, but he was very grateful that the grad had remembered. Kun sent an email to Taeyong thanking him profusely for remembering and apologizing for forgetting, explaining that he had fallen asleep practically immediately after getting home. He wondered why the grad was awake at this hour, but he didn’t dare ask and simply chalked it up to him having a lot of work to do.

Taeyong smiled to himself when he received an email from Kun a few minutes later. He printed it immediately and couldn’t help reading through it as the printer did it’s job. Chemistry confused him but he trusted that Kun had done a good job. He texted the senior again: “Printed! Go to bed!”

Kun breathed a sigh of relief when Taeyong’s next text came through. He immediately text the grad: “Yes, I’m going! Goodnight Taeyong and thank you so much again!” He returned his phone to his nightstand and hoped that he would finally be able to get some more sleep.

Taeyong smiled at Kun’s reply. The senior’s style of texting was adorable. He sent back a simple “call me hyung” then decided to finally go to bed.

Kun groaned when his alarm went off in the morning. He knew he was going to be exhausted, but that didn’t make it any easier. After a minute of lying there, Kun reached over and grabbed his phone to shut his alarm off. He noticed another text from Taeyong and swiped his phone open. He beamed when he read it and responded with an “Okay!” He slipped out of bed and went to get ready. Today is going to be a good day.

Taeyong collected his brother and Kun’s paper as he scrambled out the door. Normally, he wouldn’t be in such a rush, but he needed to find Kun before classes started. He tossed his phone to Mark, asking the younger to text Kun and ask where he wanted to meet.

Kun was just putting his bowl in the sink when he received a text from Taeyong. He sent back a reply, asking if the library was okay, and finished packing up his bag while he waited for an answer.

“Library?” Mark asked, still holding Taeyong’s phone. The elder nodded, focusing on the road and hoping he would have time to get a coffee.

Kun sent back a thumbs up and then headed for his car. The only good thing about getting to campus this early was getting a close parking space. He was at the library quicker than usual so he decided to head to the cafe and grab himself and Taeyong a coffee as a thank you for printing his paper.

Taeyong pulled into a parking space and took his phone back from Mark. The freshman left, heading to his first class, and Taeyong headed for the library. He wasn’t sure where Kun would be, so he headed for the cafe, intending to get himself a coffee.

Kun grabbed the two coffees after thanking the barista and grabbed a seat. He was just about to text Taeyong where he was when he caught sight of the grad walking in. He waved to Taeyong and stood up to go meet him.

Taeyong was in the process of texting Kun as he walked into the cafe. He stood at the end of the line, head down as he cleared out his notifications. It occurred to him suddenly that he hadn’t stapled the papers, but it wasn’t really his problem anymore.

Kun noticed Taeyong had his head down and was on his way to stand in line. He walked briskly across the cafe and tapped Taeyong on the shoulder just as he was about to step up to order.

Taeyong jerked in surprise when someone tapped his shoulder and turned, eyes wide, to find Kun behind him. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you, did you say something?” he asked automatically.

“No, no, I just wanted to make sure you didn’t order yet,” Kun replied as he held up the coffee he ordered for Taeyong, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Oh, thank you!” Taeyong said with a smile. He moved over to the nearest empty table, taking his backpack off as he did so, and pulled the report out. “I forgot to staple it,” he said apologetically.

“I wasn’t sure what kind you usually drink so if you don’t like it I can get you another one,” Kun said as he followed Taeyong to the table, “No worries about a staple, just printing this was more than enough.” Kun placed his backpack on the chair so he could slip the project inside.

“No, no, this is great,” Taeyong said. He passed the paper over and zipped his bag up again. “I hope you don’t mind, I read through it. I don’t know much about chemistry, but it was great from a writing perspective.”

“Oh, not at all, thank you,” Kun said, blushing slightly as he put his project in his bag, “That must have been pretty boring for you to read. We were given samples found at a mock crime scene and we had to analyze their chemical structures to determine what they are.” Kun bit his lip, he didn’t mean to ramble on, but sometimes he forgot not everyone was as passionate about science as he was.

“That means _literally_ nothing to me,” Taeyong said, “but it’s cute that you’re so into it.” He turned bright red the second the words left his mouth. He wasn’t supposed to say that.

Kun froze. _Cute? Cute!_ He knew every since seeing Yuta’s snapchat story that Taeyong thought he was cute, but to hear it in person was something completely different. He didn’t miss the tinge of pink that rose in the grad’s cheeks right after he finished talking, and smiled shyly. _You know, I could say the same thing about you, Lee Taeyong._ “Sorry to ramble,” Kun said as he ran a hand through his hair, “I forget not everyone cares about science sometimes.” He took a sip of his coffee as he slipped his backpack onto his shoulders.

“It’s not that I don’t _care_ about it,” Taeyong said, “I just don’t get it. I never really had the brain for it. But like, fuck climate change and all that.” He smiled sheepishly. God, he was so embarrassing.

Kun chuckled, “Yes, fuck climate change.” He couldn’t help but smile at Taeyong’s effort. Despite the grad not knowing anything about science, he was still trying and didn’t knock Kun down for getting excited about it. That was a lot more than he could say for some people. “I completely understand that though because that’s exactly how I am with history, obviously.”

“I couldn’t imagine not being interested in history. It’s just like...so much shit happened! Like, spill me the prehistoric tea! Let me imagine what it was like going through that crazy ass situation! And like, I can understand not being good at it, because theory’s fucking awful, but it’s just so cool!” Taeyong ranted. He hoped that he would someday end up writing the historical fiction novel of the century, but that was a pipe dream.

Kun smiled as he tried to absorb as much of Taeyong’s little rant as possible. It was adorable how passionate he was about history. Kun could listen to him go on forever, even if he didn’t know most of what he was talking about. He wasn’t quite sure was time it was, but he didn’t dare check his phone. Being late to class was worth the extra time talking to Taeyong.

Taeyong’s phone buzzed with his ten minute reminder for class. “I should go,” he said with a sigh, “good luck with your project. Do you want to meet here tonight instead of the grad school?”

Kun’s face fell when Taeyong said he had to go. He knew he had to leave soon, but it still felt too soon. “Thank you! Yeah, here works for me. See you tonight!” Kun said. He thanked Taeyong once more for printing his project and headed for his first class. He hoped all of his classes were easy and went by quickly. If there was one thing Qian Kun never thought he’d look forward to, it was a tutoring session.

Taeyong was actually home early for once. He didn’t have to wait for Mark and Kun was faster at picking material up than Taeyong had expected. With a small yawn, he pulled out his laptop and opened his manuscript. After reading over and editing what he had written the night before, he put it away for the night. He simply had no ideas. Flicking off the lamp, he curled up on his side around a pillow. His thoughts subconsciously strayed toward Kun. The younger boy was, for lack of better terminology, _fucking adorable_.

Kun was ecstatic. The tutoring session had gone much better than he expected and he actually felt confident for his quiz tomorrow. The best part was that he didn’t need to spend an ungodly amount of time in the library and was even able to make it home before it was dark. He decided to spoil himself by cooking a legitimate meal for dinner. He reviewed his notes one more time and then headed into the bathroom to take a quick shower. Tonight was the earliest Kun had gone to bed since syllabus week and he was grateful for the extra sleep. His mind almost immediately drifted to Taeyong and Kun couldn’t help but smile as he slowly fell asleep.

Friday rolled around and Taeyong found himself at Yuta and Johnny’s apartment. They were supposedly going out, which meant that they were dragging him to a gay club in his sluttiest shirt and messy eyeliner, getting him drunk, and setting him loose. Taeyong wasn’t into hookups, he really wasn’t, but he had nothing against dirty dancing on a hot guy in a dark club. Unfortunately, because of how loud clubs could be, he had to handicap himself. The feedback through his hearing aids was always unbearable, so he would switch them off the moment he got inside, which is what he had done. Now, he was chilling at a table, drink in hand, waiting for the alcohol to kick in.

For the first time all semester, Kun did not have an overwhelming amount of work to do over the weekend. He even managed to get a B on his quiz, which was the best grade he’s gotten on all semester. As a celebration, Sicheng and Ten decided to take him out. Kun hadn’t been out in ages and was not particularly fond of the club; however, a drunk Ten was very entertaining so he donned his black jeans and a white button up and headed out. He followed his friends to the bar and no sooner did they all have a drink in their hands was Ten eyeing the men scattered throughout the club. “See any you like?” Kun asked as he took a sip. “Pink hair, 2 o’clock,” Ten said as he stalked away. _Pink hair? Oh no…_ Kun watched as Ten rapidly approached Taeyong where he was sitting and hoped he wouldn’t do anything too stupid.

Taeyong was watching, amused, as Johnny and Yuta grinded all over each other, already completely wasted. He knew there was tension between them, which they definitely needed to work on, but for now it was just funny to watch. He could still feel the thumping beat of the music, even though he couldn’t hear it, and he decided to finally make his way through the crowd to the bar.

Kun watched as Taeyong stood up and began to walk towards the bar. Ten caught up to him and practically latched himself onto Taeyong’s arm. They walked together towards the bar and Kun watched Ten flag down the bartender and order a round for him and Taeyong. Kun couldn’t help but feel a little...jealous? No, Kun wasn’t jealous…or was he? He shook his head and turned around to check on Sicheng. Kun was not surprised when he saw him a few feet away lazily making out with a smaller man, who looked vaguely familiar. He sighed bitterly and took another sip of his drink, it was going to be a long night. As if on cue, Ten turned towards him and waved. Kun’s breath hitched in his throat when he locked eyes with Taeyong.

Taeyong normally protested to being grabbed out of the blue, but the man that had latched onto his arm was hot enough that he didn’t care. It probably came off flirty, the way that Taeyong’s eyes stayed locked on his mouth. The man suddenly turned and beckoned to one of his friends. When Taeyong looked over his head, he was surprised to find none other than Qian Kun staring back at him.

Kun took another sip of his drink. He didn’t know what to do. Should he go over? Ten would probably keep Taeyong pretty occupied, but he couldn’t help but want to go over. As his mind battled with itself, Kun downed his drink and turned back to the bar to order another. Maybe Ten would drag Taeyong out to the dance floor before he got his next drink.

Taeyong sipped on his drink as the shorter man - his name was something weird, like Seven or something - turned back to him. “Wanna dance?” he saw that shorter man ask and he nodded, setting his drink back on the counter and allowing himself to be pulled out on the dance floor.

Kun breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Ten and Taeyong head for the dance floor. He didn’t think he would be able to talk to Taeyong right now. He watched the two of them dance for a while, but suddenly Ten snaked his hand around Taeyong’s waist and pulled him close. Kun had to turn himself around and decided to focus on making his drink last, hoping someone would approach him first.

Taeyong was surprised when he felt a hand against his back, but he relaxed when he realized that it was just Ten. “Jumpy,” he saw the shorter comment with a cheeky smile. Taeyong merely smiled to himself and pressed closer to the other man. He tossed his arms over Ten’s shoulders, crossing them behind his neck, and swayed against him.

Kun was nearly done with his second drink when he braved turning back around. Ten and Taeyong had somehow pressed themselves closer together and looked content to stay like that for hours. Kun recognized the hungry look in Ten’s eyes, and his hand tightened around his glass. He couldn’t believe how jealous he was of Ten, and he would do almost anything to switch with him. Kun had to tear his eyes away from the pair and instead headed for the bathroom. I need another drink.

Taeyong nearly jumped out of his skin when a heavy hand landed on his shoulder, but he turned to see that it was just Johnny, pulling him away from Ten. He couldn’t hear him, but from Johnny’s expression, Ten was arguing with him. “It’s fine,” he said, turning back to him briefly, “I know him.” Ten let him go finally and Johnny pulled him over to where Yuta was standing by their earlier table, looking nervous. “Mark keeps calling me,” Johnny said, “he said he’s at your apartment and it sounded like he had been crying.” Taeyong’s blood ran cold.

Kun came back to find a pouting Ten sitting by the bar. “What happened?” he asked. “I don’t know one of his friends came and pulled him off of me. Ugh, I was so close to kissing him too,” Ten said miserably. Kun pretended he didn’t hear that as his curiosity got the better of him, “Why did they pull him away?” “The friend kept saying that it was an emergency and that he needed to take him home, but I think it was just a ploy to get him away from me,” Ten said. “I have to go,” Kun said hurriedly, “keep an eye on Sicheng and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Despite Ten’s protests, Kun was already halfway across the bar with his phone in hand typing a message to Taeyong.

Taeyong had never been more glad that he barely had anything to drink. Mark was a mess, and that was putting it lightly. He also wasn’t alone. As it turned out, he had actually begun seeing that kid in his class that he always talked about, whose name was Donghyuck. They had been going on discreet dates whenever Mark stayed with Taeyong (which was a conversation to have another time), but they hadn’t been careful enough. They were actually partners for a project and had decided to work on it at Mark’s house instead of in the library. Long story short, their parents had walked in on them kissing and kicked Mark out almost immediately, the same way they had with Taeyong a few years earlier. Taeyong now had two crying freshmen and a beat up suitcase in his living room, while he, Johnny, and Yuta stood in the kitchen, trying to figure out what to do.

“Hey, I am so sorry for any stunt my friend tried to pull, but is everything okay?” Kun read the message over to check for typos and hit send. He slipped his phone into his pocket and headed for home. Thankfully, the club was only a fifteen minute walk from his apartment and he was barely tipsy.

Taeyong had finally sent Yuta and Johnny home and gotten Mark and Donghyuck to go wash up and go to bed. He finally had a chance to check his phone and found that Kun had texted him hours ago. “Your friend was fine, it was just a family emergency,” he typed back, “tell him I’m sorry I had to leave so suddenly.”

Kun was laying in bed when Taeyong texted him back. He scoffed when he read the message. He felt bad about the emergency, but he was even more angry at himself for getting his hopes up. He absolutely should have known better, yet here he was. He quickly typed out a reply: “Oh okay. I’ll be sure to let him know. I’m sure he’d love to see you again.” Kun quickly placed his phone face down on his nightstand and rolled over determined to go to sleep and forget tonight ever happened.

“He’s hot but he’s not my type. I prefer guys that are bigger than me. And cute too,” Taeyong typed back before leaving his phone on the counter and going to check on Mark and Donghyuck. The two were still awake, cuddling in Mark’s bed. Mark was still sniffling and Donghyuck was whispering to him, telling him that it was going to be okay. Taeyong sighed and softly closed the door. This night had been a bust.

Kun woke up without his alarm for once and rolled over to grab his phone. He noticed a text from Taeyong, but couldn’t bring himself to open it yet. Instead, he opted to text Sicheng and Ten to apologize to them for running out, promise to make it up to them, and ask how the rest of their night went. After lying in bed for a while, he finally got up and headed to the bathroom to get ready. It wasn’t until he was sitting at the table eating breakfast that Kun finally decided to read Taeyong’s text. His eyes widened in surprise when he read it and he couldn’t help the blush that spread across his cheeks. He sat there re-reading the text making sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him before crafting a response: “He’ll be disappointed to hear that, but I happen to know someone who fits your criteria.” Kun’s finger hovered over the send button trying to find the bravery to press it.

Taeyong had taken Mark and Donghyuck out for breakfast when they woke up, after making sure that Donghyuck’s parents knew where he was. His brother seemed to be doing a little better than the night before, which was good. He was grateful for Donghyuck and had a feeling that the two would be together for a long time.

Kun took a deep breath and pressed send. He quickly switched to his messages from Ten and laughed at how dramatic his friend was. After texting him to come over, Kun placed his phone on the counter and busied himself cleaning his apartment. It was nice to have a day off from homework and he hadn’t had a chance to hang out with Ten in a while. Plus, he needed an excuse to not stare at his phone all day.

Taeyong had just dropped Donghyuck off at the dorms when he felt a text come in. Resisting the urge to look at it, he drove back to his apartment as quickly as he legally could. When he read the text, he smiled giddily. “So do I,” he messaged back, “but I can’t tell if he’s a natural flirt or if he actually likes me.”

Kun was just finishing vacuuming his living room when Ten had shown himself in. No sooner had Ten shut the door behind him was he ranting about how Sicheng found himself a guy almost immediately and even brought him home. Kun just chuckled and sat down at the table as Ten continued his retelling of the evening. A few minutes later, Kun’s phone lit up and Ten eyed it suspiciously, “Who’s that?” “No one important,” Kun replied as he reached for the phone. Kun smiled as he read the message and quickly typed a reply: “Ahhh, well you know, there is really only one way to find out.” He looked up to see Ten eyeing him. “Just continue your story,” Kun said as he put his phone down.

Taeyong cocked an eyebrow as he read Kun’s message. “Oh? Do tell, Mr. Qian.” He sent the message, locked his phone, and turned back to his manuscript. Johnny and Yuta has agreed to take the weekend off from partying to make sure Mark was okay, which meant Taeyong actually had time to work without being hungover.

Kun’s phone lit up again and Ten was not letting him off the hook, “I’m not gonna finish until you tell me who that is.” “If I tell you it’s my history tutor will you leave me alone?” Kun asked as he read the message. “Absolutely not.” Kun rolled his eyes as he typed: “You have to talk to him!! You never know, he may just be too shy to say anything himself.” Kun felt satisfied as he sent the message, “Fine, tell me how Sicheng convinced this guy to spend the night, and then I’ll tell you who I’m texting,” Ten smiled victoriously and launched back into his story.

“And what if I’m shy too?” Taeyong texted back. He was in the middle of making a snack for himself and Mark and helping his brother with some of his homework. He was glad that things had finally calmed down a bit.

Kun swallowed nervously when he read Taeyong’s next message. _I do not have enough game for this_. “So, I told you my story. Who are you texting?” Ten asked with folded arms. “I told you, I’m texting my history tutor,” Kun replied as he began typing: “Then you need to get yourself a good wingman to help you out. I know a decent amount of people around school and I’m sure one of them is your mystery man. I’m more than willing to talk to him for you, hyung.” Kun quickly pressed send, a small piece of him was worried that Taeyong actually had eyes on someone else, but he clung on to the little sliver of hope he had left.

Taeyong read Kun’s message and immediately started hearing alarm bells. This was getting into dangerous territory. Fortunately, Mark walked into the room at that very moment. _Let’s get ice cream_ , he signed, finishing it off with a pleading pout. Taeyong rolled his eyes but agreed, leaving Kun without a response.

Kun waited for his phone to light up, but it never did. He frowned, he really hoped he hadn’t made this awkward. Taeyong was his history tutor after all and he still had to meet with him for the rest of the semester. Kun was pulled from his thoughts when Ten spoke up, “Hey, Sicheng just texted me and said he’s going to a bar with his new friend tonight, wanna join them?” “No, that’s okay. I haven’t had a relaxing night to myself in a while, so I’m gonna stay here. Thanks for the offer though,” Kun replied. “Suit yourself,” Ten said as he grabbed his keys and phone off the counter and headed for the door. They bid their goodbyes and Kun locked the door behind his friend. He headed to the kitchen to scrounge around for ingredients, and distracted himself by cooking dinner.

Taeyong was so busy on Sunday and by Monday that he had completely forgotten about his conversation with Kun. It was with a small bounce in his step that he walked into the cafe after his TA lecture, grabbing himself a coffee before finding a table in the corner to wait for Kun.

The rest of Kun’s weekend was spent getting a jump start on some assignments so he wouldn’t be drowning in them during the week. Taeyong hadn’t responded at all and Kun feared the worst. He was back to his original level of nervousness for his meetings and didn’t know what to expect as he walked into the cafe.

Taeyong had finally managed to get those essays printed, so he sat editing them and sipping on his coffee as he waited for Kun. Despite everything that had happened over the weekend, his stress level was actually fairly low. Mark was feeling much better, which meant Taeyong was as well, and he was grateful that he would be able to apologize to Kun in person.

Kun spotted Taeyong and headed towards the table. He took his time walking across the cafe and noticed Taeyong was bent over a stack of papers. “Are those the papers you have to grade for the class you TA?” Kun asked cautiously as he slipped into the seat across from Taeyong.

“Yeah, the essays,” Taeyong said. He gathered them up and put them in his bag. “So? How did you do on the quiz?” he asked as he shrugged off his flannel. It may have only been the middle of March, but it was warm in the cafe and the flannel over his tank top was a bit too much.

Kun felt his eyes widen as Taeyong slipped his shirt off; he didn’t realize the grad had such nice arms. He averted his eyes and focused on getting his notebook out of his bag instead. “Oh, I got a B!” Kun said excitedly. He felt his nervousness melt away at the reminder of the grade, but it came right back when he looked up again. _This is going to be a long forty-five minutes_.

Taeyong shook his bracelets down his wrists and smiled when Kun announced his grade. “That’s great!” he said proudly, “another couple of weeks and you’ll be pulling all As, I bet.” He shook his hair out of his eyes, unable to keep from beaming as he took in how cute Kun was when he was excited.

Kun smiled shyly at Taeyong’s praise, “I don’t think I’ll be able to pull an A, but we’ll see.” Taeyong’s tanktop moved as he shook his arms and Kun saw what looked like a line of black ink, and he furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to get a better look. “Hyung, do you have a tattoo?”

“You definitely will,” Taeyong said. He heard Kun’s question and glanced down at his own shoulder as if checking that the tattoo was still there. “Oh yeah,” he said, moving the strap of his tank top to the side to show off the tiny outlined hand on his shoulder. It wasn’t big, maybe only an inch square.

“Oh that’s really nice,” Kun said as he leaned forward to get a closer look. “What is it for? If you don’t mind me asking,” he added hurriedly. He still wasn’t sure how Taeyong felt towards him at the moment and the last thing he want to do was cross any more lines.

“It’s, uh, it’s the sign language symbol for love,” Taeyong said, a little nervously. Revealing his disability to people always resulted in one of three reactions: the “you’re so brave,” the “poor you,” and the “I don’t understand people with disabilities and I’m not willing to try so we’re breaking up now.” It was part of why he kept his hair long enough to cover his ears. Hopefully, this wouldn’t change Kun’s opinion of him.

“I really like that,” Kun said as he tried to match the picture. “Is this right?” he asked, holding up his hand. He smiled nervously hoping Taeyong wouldn’t think he was trying to mock him.

“Thumb up,” Taeyong said, reaching out to fix Kun’s fingers, “yeah, like that.” He mirrored the sign, waving his hand slightly with a soft smile. “Don’t worry, Mark can’t do it properly either. It’s actually a really hard sign to make.”

Kun relaxed his hand so Taeyong could adjust his fingers, and almost let out a sad sigh when he let go. He looked at his hand making a mental note of the correction; he was definitely going to practice it. “Oh is Mark your brother?” Kun asked. He knew he was here for history, but he would much rather learn about Taeyong.

“Yeah,” Taeyong said, nodding, “his name’s actually Minhyung, but he started going by Mark after he studied abroad in high school.” Taeyong had been in his sophomore year of college then and had just gotten kicked out. He hadn’t even known that Mark had gone to Canada.

Kun nodded and smiled softly, “I know how hard studying abroad is, and I can’t even imagine going that young.” Sometimes Kun truly forgot he was abroad, he didn’t like to think about home that often.

“Yeah, it was...a rough year,” Taeyong said cryptically, not really wanting to talk about it anymore. There were a lot of bad memories associated with Mark’s year in Canada, like the fact that the younger Lee had literally despised Taeyong the entire time that he was there. “So, what do we need to go over from the quiz?”

“The impact of the war. I focused so much on the war itself that I fell apart on the question about the years following,” Kun said as he cracked his notebook open. As much as he didn’t want to talk about history, he was grateful for the subject change.

“Okay, do you remember what you wrote down?” Taeyong asked, leaning forward and propping his chin on top of his hands. He glanced at his watch and saw that they only had half an hour left. He hoped to make the best of it.

Kun sighed and tried to recall what he wrote. Luckily, it wasn’t too difficult considering he barely answered that portion of the question. He knew the armistice split the peninsula and created a cease fire. However, it was not able to solve anything as tensions between the two sides have run high ever since.

Taeyong nodded along as Kun explained what he had written down. This would be a lot easier for the senior if he was Korean, as Taeyong didn’t know what kind of curriculum Chinese schools actually had about the Conflict. At least they would be equally knowledgeable about Vietnam.

Kun listened as Taeyong went over information he got wrong and began to summarize the after effects of the war. For the first time all semester, Kun actually understood the material and he nodded along as Taeyong continued his explanation. He didn’t feel nearly as overwhelmed as he did in lecture and was grateful Taeyong was so helpful.

Taeyong finished his explanation and checked his watch. Fifteen minutes until he needed to go. “Okay, what’s this week’s topic?” he asked.

“The Vietnam War,” Kun replied. He felt like all he learned about was wars and he wasn’t sure how he was going to be able to remember the details of each, without confusing them, for his final.

“Is this a general history class, or a war history class?” Taeyong asked. He still hadn’t managed to get in contact with Lee Taeil and get the insider information on the professor.

“It’s supposed to be a general history class, but the professor has been focusing almost exclusively on wars,” Kun sighed. The next fifteen minutes flew by and Kun felt like he actually stood a chance this week.

Taeyong wrapped up, promising he would get more information from Taeil before they met again on Wednesday. Just as he was about to get up and head to his car, however, an email came through say that his class was cancelled due to his professor’s daughter going into labor. With a small smile, he plopped back down in his chair.

Kun thanked Taeyong and stood to get himself a coffee, but was confused when the grad sat back down. “Uh, hyung, don’t you have class?” he asked.

“It just got cancelled,” Taeyong said happily, “the professor’s daughter is having a baby.” He took another sip from his now-cold coffee and made a face. Cold coffee was gross.

“Oh that’s great!” Kun said, he didn’t miss the look of disgust on the grad’s face when he took a sip of his coffee and decided to get him a new one. He headed up to the counter and ordered two coffees. There was no line so they were out relatively quickly. Kun thanked the barista and headed back to the table. “Here, you look like you could use this,” Kun said as he handed the fresh coffee to Taeyong.

“Ah, thank you,” Taeyong said, taking the coffee and sighing happily when he took a sip. “So. What pushed Qian Kun to come study science in Korea?”

Kun laughed wryly. “My parents weren’t, and quite frankly they still aren’t, big fans of the my decision to major in forensic science so I convinced them to let me study here to make connections so I can move out here permanently when I get a job.” Kun typically made up some story about wanting to experience a different culture and using the experience to grow more confident in his Korean, but he felt so comfortable with Taeyong that he didn’t mind sharing the truth.

“Really? I would think that a STEM field would be something they would support more than something like music or writing,” Taeyong asked, a little intrigued. He took another sip of his drink, never taking his eyes off of Kun.

Kun smiled sadly, “My entire dad’s side of the family has majored in some discipline or another of engineering so it was expected that I was going to as well. When I told them I wanted to major in forensics, they were furious. They threatened to kick me out if I didn’t change my mind, but luckily they agreed to this plan.” He looked up when he finished and had to hold back a light gasp as he met Taeyong’s eyes. He had never really acknowledged how stunning the grad student actually was.

Taeyong nodded in understanding. He had been kicked out for entirely different reasons, but his parents hadn’t been supportive of his major either. They had forced him to double major in biology so he would have “something to fall back on,” but he had dropped the second major the second he’d been kicked out. “Well, I’m glad you ended up here,” he said with a smile.

Kun felt the color rise in his cheeks and his eyes darted to the coffee cup in his hands. He couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. “Me too. This has been the best decision I’ve ever made and I honestly don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t decide to come here.”

“You know, we can hang out outside of tutoring,” Taeyong said suddenly, “I’m sure my friends would love to meet you. All...two of them,” he finished in a mumble. He was suddenly embarrassed about his lack of friends. It made him seem like even more of a nerd.

“That would be really nice actually. I would love to meet your friends, and your brother too!” Kun was ecstatic that Taeyong wanted to see him outside of tutoring sessions. He didn’t want to get too hopeful, but he really couldn’t help it. “I would offer to introduce you to my friends, but you already met Ten,” Kun said with a dry chuckle.

“I danced with Ten while we were both fairly intoxicated and I couldn’t remember what number his name was,” Taeyong corrected, “and if I remember correctly, you had other friends with you. But yes, we should get together as a group. It’ll be fun!”

“Ah yes, Sicheng was with us too, but he was a little preoccupied. A group outing sounds great!” Kun hadn’t hung out with a group since coming here and he was looking forward to making some new friends.

“Why don’t we get together at my apartment on Friday?” Taeyong suggested, “or I guess that’s kind of boring. We could go to the club again?” He was excited to spend more time with Kun outside of their tutoring sessions.

“The club sounds perfect, although I’m not that great of a dancer,” Kun said. If there was one thing he couldn’t forget about that night in the club it was the way that Taeyong was dancing.

“Neither am I,” Taeyong said, “and Johnny and Yuta are usually just a writhing entanglement of limbs, so. I think you’ll be fine.” He smiled so wide that his eyes crinkled up into nothing.

Kun hadn’t seen Taeyong this happy since he went on his mini rant about what he liked about history. He never wanted that smile to fade, and sat there for a moment taking in how incredibly adorable the grad was. “I don’t know if I entirely believe you,” Kun smirked. “I did happen to see you dancing last time and you definitely seemed to know what you were doing.”

“That wasn’t really dancing,” Taeyong said, “that was just me being drunk.” He had to control his breathing when he saw Kun smirking. It felt like he was having heart palpitations just from how attractive the senior was.

“I guess I’ll have to judge your dancing skills for myself on Friday,” Kun said. He wasn’t sure where this burst of confidence had come from, but he wasn’t nervous for Taeyong’s response. Instead, he eyed the grad curiously as he took a sip of his coffee.

“I guess you will,” Taeyong said, doing him best to not squeak in embarrassment. He could feel his cheeks heating up and it was mortifying. Liking Kun was something he should be doing from afar, not flirting with him like he had any semblance of a chance.

Kun couldn’t help but smile at how flustered he was making Taeyong. The twinge of pink in the grad’s cheeks made him just that much more adorable. Kun pulled his phone out of his pocket and launched out of his seat when he realized the time. “Shit, I didn’t realize it was that late. I’m so sorry to run out like this, but I have lab in ten minutes,” Kun said with a very apologetic look.

“Oh my god, yeah, get going,” Taeyong said, “I’ll see you on Wednesday night.” He gathered his things up as well. He didn’t have class until later that night, but it wouldn’t hurt to get some actual work done.

“See you on Wednesday, hyung!” Kun called over his shoulder. He headed to class and made it just in time, his conversation with Taeyong replaying itself in his mind. By the time Friday rolled around, Kun had practically gone stir crazy with how excited he was to go out.

Taeyong had decided to take the risk and let Yuta dress him to go out. Which meant that he ended up in a choker, a band shirt, and ridiculously ripped skinny jeans with fishnets under them, topped off by military style boots and heavy, dirty eyeliner. He looked like a fuckin’ snack and a half. It was his turn to make Kun flustered, he thought with a small smirk. He and Yuta were just waiting for Johnny - Mark and Donghyuck had declined the invite out in favor of having a movie night - before heading to the club.

Kun took one last look in the mirror before stepping out of the bathroom. “What do you think?” he asked Ten and Sicheng. He was wearing his trusty black jeans, but this time he had on a red button up. He only buttoned it up to mid chest and allowed the shirt to fold open. Around his neck was a simple gold necklace. Ten wolf whistled and Sicheng nodded his approval. Kun punched Ten in the arm, grabbed his wallet and phone, and then the three headed out.

Johnny finally showed up and Yuta and Taeyong piled into his car, already a little buzzed. Taeyong had needed the liquid courage if he was going to see Kun like this without backing out. He spread out across the back of the car while Yuta sat up front singing along to whatever music Johnny was blasting. Within no time, they were outside the club waiting for the others.


	3. Chapter 3

Fifteen minutes later Kun’s little squad had arrived outside of the club.  Kun’s eyes scanned the line and soon he found the familiar pink hair; he didn’t know what he was going to do if Taeyong ever changed it.  As they got closer, Kun got a good look at what Taeyong was wearing and his mouth dropped open. _Holy shit he looks incredible_ .  Kun swallowed hard; he had no idea what he was going to do with the grad looking like _that_.  Clearing his throat, he walked over to join Taeyong and his friends.

Taeyong nearly choked when he saw Kun. The senior looked _so fucking good_. The red shirt highlighted the paleness of his skin in a good way, as did the subtle gold chain around his neck. “Kun, hi,” he breathed nervously, ignoring Johnny’s snorts behind him.

“Hey!” Kun said, he couldn’t help it as his eyes roamed over the grad’s body, taking in every detail of his outfit.  Collecting himself, he introduced Sicheng and reintroduced a nervous looking Ten to Taeyong.

Taeyong introduced Johnny and Yuta with a smile, apologizing that Mark couldn’t make it. They were close to the front of the line now and he was excited to get another drink in him and just let loose.

Kun nodded his greetings, he had seen Johnny and Yuta at a couple of club meetings, but he didn’t know much about them.  Afterwards, he slipped next to Taeyong in line and practically dragged him to the bar the minute they walked in the door.  “What do you like to drink?” Kun asked as he waved over the bartender.

“Anything fruity,” Taeyong replied, leaning on the bar so he could still see Kun’s mouth. When the younger wasn’t looking, he reached up and fiddled with his hearing aids until the volume was comfortable.

Kun nodded and turned around to order two sex on the beaches.  He sat there for a moment drumming his fingers on the bar as the bartender placed the drinks down and took his card.  Kun passed one of the drinks to Taeyong and took a sip from his own, before putting his card away and turning to face Taeyong.

Taeyong took a sip from the fruity drink and nodded in approval. “I think the others grabbed a table if you wanna sit down,” he said, gesturing with his chin, “I need a few drinks in me before we try to dance.”

“Sure, that sounds good to me,” Kun said as he began to follow Taeyong, “Yeah, I’m gonna need more than this,” he added gesturing to his own drink.  Ten had already run off to the dance floor, but Sicheng followed behind Kun with his own drink in hand.

Taeyong led the way over to where Johnny and Yuta had claimed a corner table. He knew it would be slightly quieter there and was grateful that he wouldn’t need to shout as much. The second the three of them sat down, Johnny was leaning around Yuta and asked if Ten was single.

“Yeah he is, and he’s always on the hunt for a good dance partner,” Kun said as he looked at the dance floor in search of Ten, “I’m positive he would be thrilled to dance with you.”  Kun took a sip of his drink and snuck a look at Taeyong, he was having a hard time keeping his eyes off of the grad, but he didn’t want to get caught staring so he resorted to sneaking looks.  “Oh, he’s also a really great dancer,” Kun added. He was intrigued by Johnny’s interest in his friend and wanted to see where this could go.

Taeyong looked between his friends and snickered at the way that Yuta was absolutely green with jealousy. “Why don’t you _both_ go dance with him?” he suggested slyly.

Kun smirked at the idea; he could already see Ten in the middle of Johnny and Yuta, soaking up all the attention.  Sicheng excused himself saying that he was going to meet someone and headed off across the club. “I think that’s a great idea!  Don’t worry, Ten can definitely keep up with the both of you.” After ditching Ten early last weekend, Kun hoped that this could make up for it.  

Yuta got up abruptly and dragged Johnny with him, making a beeline for Ten. Taeyong shook his head and turned back to Kun. “They’ve been pretending that they’re not fucking for the last six months,” he explained, “except Yuta actually _likes_ Johnny.”

Kun nodded and took a sip of his drink as he walked the pair approach Ten.  Ten looked both of them up and down before yanking Yuta towards him. Kun watched as the three of them quickly settled themselves and looked back at Taeyong, “Mhm, well I’m sure Ten will have plenty of fun with the two of them.  What’s Johnny’s deal then?” He took this opportunity to lock eyes with Taeyong and marvel at how incredibly hot he looked. _Whoever did his eye liner is a godsend._

“He’s just fuckin’ oblivious,” Taeyong said, absently running his finger around the rim of his glass, “it hasn’t really occurred to him that dating Yuta is a thing that he can do. But! Enough about them. What about you? Are you seeing anyone?”

“Me? Oh no, haha, no one’s really interested in the quiet Chinese guy that spends all his time in the library.” Kun swallowed, he really didn’t want to keep the attention on himself.  “You said you had your eyes on someone though, any new developments?” Kun took a large sip of his almost empty drink and set it back down.

“Well, I just found out that he doesn’t think very highly of himself,” Taeyong said, looking up to lock eyes with Kun before he spoke again, “not quite sure what to do about that.”

“Well,” Kun started.  He downed the rest of his drink, not caring if he was blushing.  There was no point in playing games anymore when they both knew exactly how the other felt. “You could buy him another drink and see where the rest of the night goes.”  He met Taeyong’s eyes as he spun his empty glass around in his hand.

“Bold of you,” Taeyong commented, swirling what was left of his drink before drinking it all in one go, “but I think I want to dance instead. Join me?”

Kun chuckled and smirked at Taeyong, “I would love to dance with you.”  He quickly forgot about his drink and stood up, maybe a little too eagerly.  

Taeyong stood up too, taking Kun’s hand and dragging him toward the dance floor. On the way, they passed Ten, who was now sandwiched between Johnny and Yuta.

Kun allowed himself to be pulled along.  He winked at Ten as they walked by and focused his attention back on Taeyong.  Once they reached a good spot, Kun pulled Taeyong back and spun the grad around to face him.

Taeyong giggled as he was spun around and moved closer to Kun. “Are you gonna dance with me or on me?” he teased.

Kun hummed in response and placed both hands on the grad’s waist.  In one swift movement, he pulled Taeyong the rest of the way towards him so their bodies were flush against each other.  Kun looked down at the smaller man. “On you,” he said with a smirk. He had no idea where this new found confidence had come from, but he was not going to squander it.

Taeyong’s mouth rounded into an O then he smirked, draping his arms around Kun’s shoulders, he started swaying against him gently.

Kun grinned when Taeyong placed his arms on his shoulders and allowed his hips to move with the grad’s.  Kun was not lying when he said he was not a very good dancer so he was happy that Taeyong had taken the lead.  With a quick flip of his hair, he locked eyes with the elder, and waited for his next move.

“I think you can do better than this,” Taeyong said cheekily, “wow me, Qian Kun.”

Kun’s eyes widened and he bit his lip.  His mind raced a mile a minute as he tried to figure out what to do.  He really didn’t know how to dance, but that was a lame excuse and he didn’t want Taeyong to be disappointed.  Suddenly he had an idea, it was certainly a ballsy idea, but it was better than nothing. Kun looked at Taeyong and his eyes landed on the grad’s lips.  He took a deep breath and tilted his head down to connect their lips in a light kiss. He pulled back and opened his eyes, immediately looking at Taeyong’s face for his reaction.  

Taeyong had tilted his head, waiting to see what Kun was going to do, and was surprised when there was suddenly a mouth against his. He gasped and the lips were gone just as quickly. “Well,” he said shakily, “that was...”

Kun felt his stomach drop; he had taken a risk and he blew it. “I-I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking,” Kun said quickly.  He removed his arms from Taeyong’s waist and took a step back. “I’m going to get another drink.” Kun turned away from the grad and headed for the bar.  

“...unexpected,” Taeyong trailed off as Kun walked away from him. Shaking the sting of rejection off, he hurriedly caught up with the younger and passed his card over the bar before Kun. “I’ll have whatever he’s having,” he said breathlessly.

“Hyung, you really don’t have to do that,” Kun said as he kept his eyes on the bar.  He couldn’t bear to look Taeyong in the face. “If anything I should be buying you another drink.”

“You said to buy him a drink and see where the night goes, right?” Taeyong said, turning to look at Kun. His hearing aids were up enough that he knew the younger was talking, but he couldn’t quite hear what he said.

Kun let out the breath he was holding, maybe he didn’t ruin this night after all.  “Yeah, I did,” Kun cracked a small smile as he finally looked up at Taeyong. The grad didn’t seem to be upset, but Kun couldn’t help but feel like he ruined the night.

Taeyong nodded and smiled, collecting the drinks and his card when the bartender came back over. He handed one of the drinks to Kun and took a sip of the other one. With his free hand, he latched onto Kun’s wrist and pulled him back through the crowd to their table.

Kun nodded his thanks as he took his drink and allowed himself to be pulled back to the table.  He took a large sip as he sat down, “I’m really sorry. I hope I didn’t ruin your night.” Kun had his eyes glued on his drink.  He knew apologizing wasn’t going to fix anything, but he couldn’t help but say it anyway.

“Why are you apologizing?” Taeyong asked as he slid into the booth across from Kun. He sipped on his drink, trying not to get rid of it too quickly. It was hard for him to tell what Kun was saying because his face was turned down, so he was confused in more ways than one.

Kun took another large sip of his drink, “I don’t want to be the reason your night is ruined.  This was supposed to be a fun night out.” Kun quickly stopped talking and focused on sipping his drink.  The more he talked the more he felt the mood dampen. He wracked his brain for something to ask to change the subject, but he was coming up empty.

“Ruining my night?” Taeyong reiterated, “you think you’re ruining my night? Kun, that’s ridiculous.” He took another sip of his drink and wondered where exactly the miscommunication had been.

“You aren’t upset?” Kun asked incredulously.  He couldn’t help but be confused. Taeyong seemed so unbothered, yet Kun couldn't help that he didn’t believe him.

“Why would I be upset?” Taeyong asked, keeping his eyes on Kun as he took another sip of his drink. He knew why Kun might think he was upset, but he was really just being cautious. He wasn’t sure that he wanted to let this lead any further.

“The guy you are tutoring just kissed you out of the blue at a club when all you wanted to do was dance. That seems like a decent reason to be upset,” Kun replied.  He took another sip of his drink and realized it was already half empty.

“Well,” Taeyong said, leaning forward, “I am more than a little tipsy right now, so there isn’t really anything that could upset me.” It wasn’t a lie; he was a very happy, giggly drunk. He wasn’t, however, quite _that_ far gone yet.

Kun hummed as he finally looked up at Taeyong. He had to admit the grad managed to look even cuter with a smile on his face.  “Well then,” Kun started. He picked up his drink and chugged the rest of it. “What would you say to having one more drink and then getting back on the dance floor?”

“I want a chocolate martini,” Taeyong replied, already standing up to go back to the bar, “what about you? I’ll buy again.” He already had his wallet in hand.

“I’ll have a vodka white,” Kun replied. “Only condition is the next round is on me.”  The smirk had found its way back to Kun’s face and he was determined to end this night on a good note.

Taeyong made his way over to the bar and ordered their drinks, paying for them and carrying them back to the table. He passed Kun his drink and slid back into the booth across from him, downing half of his in one go.

“Easy there, tiger,” Kun chided lightly.  He took a gulp of his own drink and sat back.  He was starting to feel the alcohol and let out a small giggle as he put his drink back down.

“Now, last weekend, that was a ruined weekend,” Taeyong said, “so let me get a little buzzed, okay?” He didn’t blame Mark for what had happened, of course not, but it had certainly put a damper on his night, so he was determined to make up for it now.

“Fine, fine,” Kun said as he raised his hands.  “I would be a terrible friend if I let you get drunk alone,” he added as he took another big sip of his drink.

“Exactly!” Taeyong said with a cheer. He finished half of the rest of his drink before jolting up from the table again, suddenly filled with adrenaline. “C’mon, Kunnie,” he said, “let’s go dance!”

“Okay, okay!” Kun said with a smirk as he quickly downed his drink.  He stood up to follow Taeyong. “Are you sure you can dance in this state?” Kun asked jokingly.

“I could completely pass a field sobriety test right now,” Taeyong said, taking Kun’s hand and pulling him toward the dance floor, “I can even still _say_ field sobriety test.”

Kun laughed, “Prove it then, say the alphabet backwards!”  Kun once again let him get pulled across the room and soon enough they were in the middle of the floor.

Taeyong walked backwards so he could still see Kun talking. He laughed and proceeded to recite the alphabet in the correct order going forwards. “It’s backwards because I’m walking backwards,” he said with a giggle.

Kun couldn’t help but laugh, “That’s clever, hyung, but I don’t think that’s quite how it works.”  He was hesitant to begin dancing again so he focused on making sure Taeyong didn’t topple over.

“Okay, but I can’t actually say the alphabet backwards when I’m sober, so it’s the best you’ll get,” Taeyong said, moving closer and resting his hands against Kun’s torso. The Chinese man wasn’t much taller than him, but it was enough.

Kun hummed as Taeyong placed his hands on him. He placed his hands back on the grad’s waist, eyeing him closely, but didn’t dare pull him any closer.

“Come on, aren’t you going to dance?” Taeyong said, moving his hips a little under Kun’s hands. He smiled cheekily, hoping Kun would pull him close again like he had earlier.

“Do you promise to show me how this time?” Kun asked with a smirk.  He saw the look in Taeyong’s eyes and couldn’t help himself. With a swift tug of his arms, Kun pulled Taeyong flush against him again, and he had no plans on letting go until they left or got more drinks.

Taeyong moved his hands to Kun’s hips and smiled up at him. “You just have to move your hips,” he said with a shrug, “it isn’t hard unless you are.”

Kun’s eyes widened; he didn’t expect Taeyong to be a slutty drunk, but it made the grad that much hotter.  He rolled his hips against Taeyong. “Like this?” he asked with a smirk.

Taeyong’s breath hitched and he nodded, blushing slightly. He imitated the movement, basically grinding against Kun. His drunk mind decided that while he wouldn’t mind hooking up with Kun, sober him would _definitely_ regret it.

Kun smirked darkly and continued to move his hips against Taeyong. He wasn’t worried how sloppily he was dancing as long as it was with Taeyong.  Kun tightened his arms around the elder’s waist and kept a close eye on his face to gauge his reaction.

Taeyong moved his hands up Kun’s side to his shoulders and pressed against him tighter, still rolling his hips. “Perfect,” he purred in the senior’s ear.

Kun had never really danced with anyone before, let alone like this.  He struggled to keep his breathing steady, and found himself naturally following Taeyong’s movements.  The whisper of praise sent a shiver down Kun’s spine. If Taeyong kept this up, Kun wasn’t sure what he was going to do.

Taeyong found himself staring at Kun’s lips, fascinated by the soft swell. He wondered what it would be like to kiss them - oh, wait, he had done that and it was _fucking amazing_.

Kun looked down at Taeyong and his eyes traced the smaller man’s face, memorizing every feature of it.  His eyes landed on Taeyong’s lips and he froze. He felt his hips still and he quickly recollected himself and hoped Taeyong didn’t noticed.  The alcohol in his system was making him much braver, but a small piece of his mind warned him against it. He sighed, remembering what happened last time and tried to distract himself by focusing on dancing.

With a contented sigh, Taeyong dropped his forehead onto Kun’s shoulder. He was drunk, he knew, but he had to keep himself under control. Kun wasn’t going to kiss him again and it needed to stay that way.

Kun let out a sigh of relief when Taeyong tucked his head into his shoulder.  He wished they could stay like this forever, but he had to remind himself that Taeyong was drunk and he was tipsy.  Kun slowed his hips and allowed them to sway easily back and forth.

Taeyong wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. He and Kun, who barely knew each other outside of tutoring, were in a club, together, in the middle of the dance floor, pretty much slow dancing, while the DJ played a Skrillex song. And he was shitfaced drunk. God, Monday was going to be mortifying.

Kun looked down at Taeyong and noticed that the grad’s face had slipped into a frown. He panicked and felt his whole body tense up.  It suddenly dawned on him that he had completely lost track of time and he didn’t even want to guess what hour of the morning it was.

Taeyong felt himself slowly becoming more and more tired. A voice in the back of his head reminded him that he and Kun were the only ones left at the club out of their friends and that he needed to depend on the senior to get home. He certainly wouldn’t be able to himself. “Kun-ah,” he slurred, “take me home.”

Kun hummed and peeled Taeyong off of himself and grabbed onto the grad’s arm.  Kun guided him outside before realizing that he had no idea where Taeyong lived.  “Hyung, I can call a taxi for you, or,” he bit his lip. Kun really didn’t want to overstep anymore boundaries, but he knew Taeyong wouldn’t be able to make it home on his own.  “Or you can come to my place,” he said cautiously, “it’s only a fifteen minute walk.”

Taeyong curled himself around Kun’s shoulder when they got outside and threaded their fingers together without realizing. His aids were still low so he couldn’t hear Kun’s question. “Bed,” he mumbled, hiding his face in the senior’s shoulder.

“Alright,” Kun sighed, “let’s get you to bed.”  He held Taeyong’s hand and began guiding the wobbly grad to his apartment.  As they walked Kun hummed lightly to himself and kept sneaking looks at Taeyong.  He smiled softly at the tired look in his eyes. Soon enough they were outside Kun’s apartment, and he unlocked the door and guided Taeyong inside.

Taeyong didn’t quite know where they were going but he was content to follow Kun anywhere. He slumped against Kun as they stopped in front of what he assumed was the senior’s apartment, but stood back up to be guided inside. It was dark but from what he could tell, the apartment was nice and tidy.

Kun flicked the lights on and guided Taeyong to his bedroom. He sat the grad on the bed and turned to his dresser to grab a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. “Here, at least get changed before you fall asleep.  I’ll be right back,” Kun handed the clothes to Taeyong, hoping that he would be able to get dressed on his own. He slipped from the room, closing the door behind him, and headed to the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of water and quickly drank the whole thing.  He refilled his glass and had a few more sips before filling a glass for Taeyong.

Taeyong blinked when he felt something in his hands. Oh, clothes. But...he was already wearing clothes? That was weird. He was so hot and sweaty, why was he wearing clothes at all? Stumbling a bit, Taeyong pulled off his jeans and fishnets, leaving him in just his t-shirt and boxer briefs.  He pulled off the shirt as well, exposing the small tattoos he had on his shoulder, back, rib cage, and hips. Moving sluggishly, he pulled his hearing aids out, turned them off all the way, and shoved them into the pocket of his jeans, before slumping to the side and falling asleep.

Kun took the extra glass and returned to his room.  “Hyung? Are you all set?” Kun asked as he knocked. When he heard no answer he assumed the grad had fallen asleep.  He slipped into the room and gasped when he saw Taeyong asleep on the bed. Kun’s heart was racing as he assessed his situation: his history tutor was asleep in his bed, with hardly any clothes on.  Kun shook his head and placed the glass of water on the nightstand, as he got closer he noticed that Taeyong had quite a few tattoos. He studied them for a few moments, before shaking his head again and turning away.  He grabbed his own clothes from the dresser and headed to the bathroom to wash up and get changed. He stepped out of the bathroom and went to check on Taeyong one last time. The grad was still asleep when he poked his head in and Kun took a spare blanket from his closest and covered Taeyong’s legs.  He flicked off the light and closed the door behind him as he left. He headed to the couch and feel asleep almost as soon as he laid down.

Taeyong was in pain from the moment he woke up. Cracking his eyes open, he saw that he was in an unfamiliar bedroom. He realized in the next second that he was mostly naked. His ass didn’t hurt though, so that was a good sign. Sitting up, he found his clothes on the floor. Foregoing the fishnets, he pulled on his torn up jeans and pulled the t-shirt over his head. His hearing aids were in his pocket, a good sign that he had undressed himself. He put them in and turned them on, fixing his hair to cover them. The pale pink was starting to fade out, which meant that it was probably time to dye it soon. He also found his phone in his pocket and switched it on to find a few texts from Mark and Johnny. Deciding to answer those later, he quietly snuck out of the suspiciously empty room and into the larger part of the apartment. To his surprise, he found Kun asleep on the couch. Well. That explained a lot of things.

Kun blinked his eyes open and immediately groaned at the pain that shot through his head.  His glass was empty and he sat up slowly so he could get some more water. He jumped when he saw Taeyong standing there, not expecting the grad to be awake yet.  “Good morning. How are you feeling?” he asked cautiously as his eyes shot to the floor. He couldn’t bring himself to look Taeyong in the eyes, especially considering he remembered how most of the night went.

“Sore,” Taeyong said, his voice raspy even to his own ears, “did I, like, fight someone? It feels like I fought someone. My head hurts too.” He squinted through the light from the windows and immediately took notice of how Kun was avoiding looking at him. God, he fucked it up, didn’t he? He couldn’t even remember.

“No, no you didn’t fight anyone.  Can I get you anything for your head though? More water or some Tylenol?” Kun asked as he stood up and headed to the kitchen to refill his own glass.

“Tylenol,” Taeyong said, trudging behind him. He felt mortified. Now he was praying for Mark to text him and ask him to come home. He had to get out of here before he messed up their tentative friendship any more.

Kun nodded and disappeared in the bathroom and brought out two pills and handed them to Taeyong, finally meeting his eyes.  “Hyung,” he began slowly, “how much do you remember?” He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted the answer, but he had to ask.

“I weigh like six pounds and pregamed with _Nakamoto Yuta_ ,” Taeyong said, “I don’t remember anything.” He swallowed the pills dry, coughing a bit when they got stuck in his throat.

Kun simply muttered an “ah” before retrieving his glass from the kitchen and offering it to Taeyong.  Half of him was relieved that Taeyong didn’t remember the kiss, but the other half was worried that he would have to recount the night.  Maybe it would be best if he didn’t mention it at all, he didn’t want any future tutoring sessions to be awkward.

“I hope I didn’t do anything too embarrassing,” Taeyong muttered. He took the glass gratefully and drank half of the water in one go. God, he never wanted to drink again, especially around Kun. He needed to be more careful.

Kun shook his head, “No, _you_ didn’t do anything embarrassing at all.  Although you are a lot better of a dancer than I was led to believe.”  Kun bit his lip, he wasn’t sure how much of the night he wanted to relive, but he did have a lot of fun dancing.

“Oh god, _please_ tell me I didn’t try to grind on you,” Taeyong said, slumping forward over the counter, “that would be _mortifying_.”

Kun couldn’t help but crack a small smile, Taeyong was absolutely adorable when he was flustered.  “Well let’s just say I’ve never danced with anyone like that before, and it was actually a lot of fun.”  Kun hoped he could convince Taeyong that the night had gone perfectly, but he had a funny feeling that wasn’t going to happen.  

“Oh, god,” Taeyong groaned, finally standing back up, “whatever I did, please know that I didn’t mean it. I’m kind of a slutty drunk and I’ll just go after whoever’s closest.” That didn’t really feel like the right thing to say, but hopefully it would leave Kun assured that Taeyong absolutely, one hundred percent, wasn’t into him. No sirree.

“I kinda gathered that. No worries though; we were both drunk,” Kun tried to keep a neutral tone, but he couldn’t help but feel hurt.  “Do you want anything to eat?” Kun asked as he turned to the kitchen, he didn’t want Taeyong to see his face fall. God, he felt like an idiot.  This whole time Taeyong was never into him and Kun, drunk Kun at that, decided it was a good idea to kiss him.

“No, I should probably get home,” Taeyong said apologetically, “Mark keeps texting me and I need to work on grading.” Kun’s voice had taken on a weird tinge and Taeyong felt bad. Had he done something to hurt the senior the night before? For the progress they had been making, Kun suddenly seemed very cold.

“No problem,” Kun said as he pulled eggs out of his fridge.  It suddenly dawned on him that they walked home from the club last night.  “Do you need a ride home?” Kun asked slowly.

“I should be able to get to a train station from here, right?” Taeyong asked. He couldn’t imagine that Kun lived very far from either campus or the club.

“Yeah, but it’s like a fifteen to twenty minute walk,” Kun answered.  “It’s not a big deal to give you a ride. It would save the time and the train fare, but whatever is easiest for you,” he added.  Kun knew a car ride together could be awkward, but he still didn’t mind taking Taeyong home, he couldn’t live that far away.

“It’s fine; I’ll grab coffee for Mark and his boyfriend on my way home,” Taeyong said, waving Kun off. He disappeared back into the bedroom to grab the rest of his clothes then came back to the kitchen. “Which way?”

“Take a right and then after five streets make a left.  The station is a little ways up on the right side of the road,” Kun instructed.  He busied himself cooking some eggs, despite not being very hungry.

Taeyong balled his fishnets up in his fist and nodded to himself. “Great,” he said, “thanks for letting me crash here last night. I’ll see you Monday?”

“It’s not a problem at all.  Yes, I will see you on Monday,” Kun looked up from his eggs to give Taeyong a small smile.  “Enjoy the rest of your weekend, hyung.”

“Thanks, Kun-ah, you too,” Taeyong said with a smile. He left Kun’s apartment and began the somewhat lengthy trek home.

Kun finished cooking the eggs and plated them despite having no desire to eat.  He decided to take a shower instead and quickly texted Ten asking how his night went before heading to the bathroom.  He stayed in the shower until his fingers turned pruney and finally dragged himself out. On his way back to the kitchen he grabbed his laptop and phone and sat at the counter.  Ten still hadn’t responded so Kun did the only thing he could think of to distract himself: homework.

Taeyong arrived home about forty five minutes later. It would’ve taken less time, but the train was delayed and the line at the coffeehouse was long. He finally walked in the door with three coffees and found Mark and Donghyuck on the couch playing video games. “Hello to you, too,” he said when neither of them acknowledged him.

Kun spent the rest of his weekend buried in his laptop or getting all the details of Ten’s Friday night.  Ten could not stop talking about how hot Johnny was and how good he was in bed. Kun couldn’t help but be a little jealous Ten had a good weekend, but he was determined to make up for it somehow.  Luckily, Kun managed to get through the next couple weeks of sessions without making anything worse. His grades were steadily increasing and at this rate he would easily be able to pass the class.  The sessions were still awkward as he continued to walk on eggshells around Taeyong. He wanted to be friends with the grad, he really did, but he felt that he blew those chances to bit.

They were coming up on the end of the semester and Taeyong was impressed by how far Kun had come. He was really starting to grasp the material and understand it, and his grades had been improving drastically. It was one of their Monday sessions when it all went to shit, at least in Taeyong’s eyes. He had been listening to Kun explain the premise behind the War on Terror when there was a sudden crackling sound and his right ear went dead. Taeyong’s eyes went wide and he tried to discreetly turn it off and back on, hoping that would fix it, but it did nothing. The battery was dead and he didn’t have any extras with him. He would have to go home. “Sorry, I got distracted for a second there,” he said to Kun, “can you repeat that last bit?” Trying to listen through one ear was a headache in the making, but they only had ten minutes left before he had to go anyway.

“Uh sure, I just said that it is still going on today,” Kun answered.  He noticed the shift in Taeyong’s face and began to get concerned, “Hyung, are you okay?”

“Uh, yeah,” Taeyong said, resisting the urge to fiddle with his hearing aid, “listen, can we end early today? I need to grab something from home before I head to the grad campus.”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Kun said as he began to pack up his stuff.  “Are you sure everything’s okay?” Kun asked not hiding his concern well.  He didn’t want to be nosy, but it had to be something important if Taeyong was ending their session early.  

“Yeah, totally fine,” Taeyong said, packing his stuff up as quickly as he could, “see you Wednesday!” With that, he flew out of the coffee shop and across campus. He couldn’t drive with only one hearing ear, so he had to take the train back to his apartment. He managed to get to the closest station just as a train was pulling in and was home within ten minutes. Rushing into his bedroom, he dug through his nightstand and cursed when he found the empty battery package. He remembered knowing that he needed to order more soon, but he thought he had more time. “Fuck!” he yelled again, finally yanking the devices out of his ears and making sure they were both off.

Kun sat there frozen for a minute, not knowing what to think.  Taeyong had never run out a meeting that fast before, even when he was going to be late for class.  Kun racked his brain for what could have happened, but he couldn’t figure it out. He decided to wait until Wednesday and see if Taeyong was still acting weird.  In the meantime, he had another lab report to work on so he busied himself with that.

Taeyong’s first order of business was to order more batteries. The only store that sold the right kind for his aids was on the other side of the city and usually didn’t have them in stock, so it was easier to order them. However, it meant that he might not get them until Thursday. The second thing he did was email his professors that he wouldn’t be able to attend class until he had working batteries. His third act was to text Mark and let him know what had happened. Lastly, he texted Kun. _Hey, sorry for running out like that._

Kun was surprised when his phone lit up, and was even more surprised to see it was Taeyong.  He breathed a sigh of relief when he read the message. He hoped everything was okay, but at least he knew he hadn’t done anything to cause Taeyong to act weird.  Kun quickly typed back a reply before turning back to his laptop: “No problem, hyung. Did you get everything taken care of?” He knew he should probably back off, but he was legitimately concerned about the grad.  This had to be something serious if Taeyong didn’t even run out after the k-, incident.

Taeyong got Kun’s message and stared at it for a while. He didn’t like the idea of lying to the senior, but at the same time, he wasn’t sure that he was ready to tell him. It didn’t seem fair that Kun was the only one of his friends that didn’t know about his disability, but Taeyong was still scared. He really liked Kun and he didn’t want to lose him. With a sigh, he typed a message back. _Yeah._

Kun didn’t entirely believe the one word message, but he was not going to push the issue any further.  “That’s good to hear! I’ll see you on Wednesday then,” Kun pressed send and ran his hands through his hair.  He felt like the grad was hiding something from him, but he knew it was none of his business.

Taeyong was glad that Kun didn’t push the issue. With a sigh, he set aside his phone and started on his work. By Wednesday, his batteries still hadn’t arrived, so he begrudgingly texted Kun. _Hey, sorry to do this so last minute, but I won’t be able to make our meeting tonight._

Kun slipped his phone out of his pocket as he walked out of class.  He noticed a text from Taeyong and wondered if it was a location change for their meeting, but upon reading the message he realized that assumption was incorrect.   _What’s going on?_ Kun thought as he reread the message.  Taeyong had never cancelled a meeting before, especially considering he needed the money.  Kun knew he would never cancel a meeting unless it was an emergency, and as much as it probably wouldn’t help Kun had to ask.  He typed a response as he headed to the library anyway: “No problem, hyung. I’m sorry to ask, but are you sure everything is okay?”  Kun wasn’t worried about his quiz tomorrow, but he was definitely worried about Taeyong.

 _Yeah, it’s just a medical thing_ , Taeyong sent back, not even bothering to really read what he had written until it was sent. Well. That might lead to Kun asking questions or, even worse, trying to come over. Which would be unfortunate. Taeyong really didn’t want to ruin this.

Kun froze in the middle of the quad as he read over Taeyong’s response.   _A medical thing?!_ He hadn’t realized that Taeyong was sick and now he was even more worried.  He scrambled to formulate a response not caring if there were typos: “Hyung, are you okay?  What happened? Do you need me to do anything?” He hit send and immediately regretted it; all his questions were just going to push Taeyong away.  He had to be more careful or he was going to ruin everything _again_.

Taeyong smiled a little when he saw Kun’s message. The younger’s concern was adorable. _I’m fine, it’s just a chronic thing_ , he typed back, staying cryptic on purpose. If he told Kun and the younger reacted negatively, it would break Taeyong’s heart.

 _A chronic thing?_ Kun was still worried, but he knew he couldn’t ask any further.  “Oh I see. Well please take care of yourself and let me know if there is anything I can do to help!” he quickly pressed send and put his phone back in his pocket.  He was a little hurt after all this time that Taeyong hadn’t told him. _He’s just your tutor, of course he isn’t going to tell you every detail of his personal life._

 _If you have any questions, you can text me_ , Taeyong replied before setting his phone aside. Kun was so cute, it was giving him palpitations. He was upset that he didn’t get to see him tonight, but there was no way he could properly tutor him without his hearing aids.

Kun sent back a simple “thanks, hyung” as he sat down in the library.  Now that his meeting was cancelled he was free to go to an International Students Club meeting, so after a couple hours of studying, he headed off to the student center.  As he walked in, he scanned the room for familiar faces and immediately spotted Johnny and Yuta in the corner. He waved to them and headed over to sit next to them. “Hey guys!” he greeted as he approached the duo.

Taeyong smiled at Kun’s message and put his phone away. The one positive part of dead batteries was that it gave him no excuse to not work on his manuscript. He chugged away for about an hour and a half before deciding to get up and shower.

“Hey, look who finally decided to show up,” Johnny said as Kun sat down.  “Yeah, Taeyong had to cancel our meeting for tonight so I figured I’d actually come to one of these this semester,” Kun replied.  “Oh right, he ran out of batteries,” Yuta commented. “Ran out of batteries?” Kun asked. “Yeah, for his hearing aids. Did he not tell you?” Johnny looked confused that Kun didn’t know why Taeyong had to cancel.  “No, I had no idea he wore hearing aids,” Kun said quietly as he sat back in his chair. His mind raced a mile a minute as he began to piece together the little quirks in Taeyong’s behavior. _His tattoo._ He wondered why the grad hadn’t told him because Kun would have made sure to have been a lot more clearer when he spoke.  Now he felt bad because he probably made Taeyong’s life much harder sometimes without ever realizing it. Kun was pulled from his thoughts as the meeting began and tried to focus on the discussion, but he kept getting distracted.   _How am I going to tell him that I know?_

Taeyong was surprised that he had a text from Johnny when he got out of the shower. His heart stopped when he read the message. _You never told Kun?_ He didn’t need to ask what Johnny was talking about. They had been friends long enough that Johnny knew not only about his disability, but had been there when it had first happened. He had been with Taeyong through all of his insecurities and breakdowns, and he had been the first one to try learning sign language for him. As a result, he also knew that, while Taeyong was hesitant to share that information about himself, he would usually drop the bomb within a few weeks of knowing someone. Unless, that is, he was into them. In that case, he clammed up completely. _No_ , Taeyong texted back, _I haven’t had the chance._ The older boy responded immediately: _Bullshit._

Kun bid his goodbyes to Johnny and Yuta after the meeting and quickly headed home.  The whole car ride home he was trying to plan how he was going to tell Taeyong he knew.  He scratched every idea he came up with and decided to take a shower to think about it more.  Not telling Taeyong crossed his mind, but it wasn’t fair. Kun was already hiding the incident from Taeyong, he couldn’t hide this too.  Kun took a record fast shower and finally picked up his phone to text Taeyong. “Hyung, can we talk? It’s nothing bad, I just have something to tell you,” Kun’s hands were shaking as he struggled to press the send button.


	4. Chapter 4

Taeyong sighed when he read Kun’s message. This was it. His hands shook as he typed out a reply. _Johnny told you. It’s fine, I’ll find you another tutor,_ he typed out, pressing send without even bothering to proofread. He sat down hard on his bed. His chest ached.

Kun’s eyes widened as he read Taeyong’s message.   _A new tutor? No no no…_ At least Johnny had told Taeyong and Kun didn’t have to.  He didn’t want to think about what would have happened if he had to tell Taeyong.  Obviously this was very personal, but Kun still felt hurt that Taeyong didn’t want to tutor him now that he knows.  He thought they were good enough friends that it didn’t matter. Kun took several deep breaths before he started typing again: “I don’t want a new tutor!  You’ve helped me so much and are the sole reason I am going to pass this class. There’s no way I’m going to make it through the final without you.” Everything in Kun’s message was the truth, but he was worried that Taeyong wouldn’t care.  He felt their friendship slipping through his fingertips and he didn’t know what he was going to do. He quickly got ready for bed and slid between the sheets, scrolling through his phone while he waited for a response. _I am not going to lose you that easily Lee Taeyong._

Taeyong knew that the buzz from his phone was Kun, but he was hesitant to even look at it. Somehow, he still had hope and he didn’t want to let go of that yet. However, he knew he needed to be an adult, so he picked up the phone. His hands were so shaky that he couldn’t even read the message. He dropped the phone on his pillow and leaned over to read it. His eyebrows raised higher with every word he read. Kun...wasn’t disgusted? Didn’t feel tricked? Still wanted Taeyong to tutor him? That was ridiculous. _You don’t have to lie to me. Finals are coming up. It’s difficult learning from a tutor that can’t hear you. It’s fine, Kun, seriously. I get it._

Kun switched to his messages before the sound even finished playing.  He felt absolutely crushed that Taeyong didn’t believe him. Sighing he typed out a response: “Hyung, I’m really not lying.  I owe you so much for helping me this semester and I really don’t think I can pass this final without you. Please stay as my tutor.  I’ll practice sign language along with the history to make our sessions easier.” Kun was feeling more and more discouraged as the conversation went on, but he was going to fight for this friendship for as long as need be.

Taeyong saw Kun’s message and almost started crying. Qian Kun, on top of his already overwhelming workload, on top of a class he was _failing_ , was willing to learn sign language just to make it easier on Taeyong. How was this even real? “You don’t have to do that,” Taeyong sent, followed by, “can you come over? I’d rather talk in person.”

Kun leapt out of bed the minute he read Taeyong’s text. He quickly sent back: “Absolutely, what’s your address?  I’ll be right over.” He threw his phone on the bed so he could quickly throw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He didn’t care about looking presentable.  He snatched his phone off of the bed and headed to his car, waiting for a response from Taeyong.

Taeyong quickly sent Kun his address. “I’ll leave the door unlocked for you to let yourself in,” he sent, “I won’t be able to hear you knocking.” Once the messages sent, he got up and rushed around, trying to make himself and his apartment presentable. It had gotten messier since Mark had moved in - Taeyong was just a little obsessive when it came to cleaning, so this really meant a little more dust than usual and a book or two on the table.

Kun punched the address in his phone and drove off.  He didn’t care that he was speeding, all he cared about was getting to Taeyong’s apartment as soon as possible.  He pulled into Taeyong’s driveway much sooner than he should have and texted the grad that he was here. He slipped out of the car and let himself into the apartment.

Taeyong was grateful when Kun texted him, because it meant that he wouldn’t have the life scared out of him. He was scared now, though. Inviting Kun over had very much been an impulse decision. Taeyong didn’t even know what to say to him.

Kun looked around the apartment and marveled at how clean and organized it was. He froze in the doorway.  He had no idea where Taeyong was and he was not about to go traipsing around the apartment in search of him. “Hyung, where are you?” Kun sent the message and locked the door behind himself as he wait for a response.

Taeyong got the second message and peeked out of the kitchen to find Kun standing in his living room. “Hey,” he said awkwardly, wincing internally at the way he knew his voice was beginning to slur.

Kun wanted to envelop Taeyong in a hug and never let go, but he stood rooted to his spot.  “Hyung, I really do want to learn sign language for you. If that makes things easier, I want to do it.  I really don’t want to lose you as my tutor and I especially don’t want to lose you as a friend.” Kun took a deep breath, there was no going back now and he was scared for Taeyong’s reaction.

Taeyong smiled bitterly. “You’re talking too fast, Kun-ah,” he said, “I only caught about half of that. But it’s fine, really. Once I have batteries, I’ll be okay. It took Johnny and Mark years to learn and there’s only two weeks left of the semester. I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

Kun took another deep breath and started again, much slower this time, “But we don’t have to stop being friends after this semester is over.  I still want to learn, especially in case something like this happens again.” Kun didn’t realize he had taken a couple of steps towards Taeyong as he was talking.

“Yuta doesn’t sign. My own parents don’t sign,” Taeyong said, “it really isn’t that big of a deal. I prefer speaking and using my aids anyway. It makes me feel normal.” It felt odd to admit that to someone that wasn’t Johnny.

Kun nodded, “I understand.”  He made a mental note to look up some basic signs just in case.  “Will you still tutor me for the rest of the semester?” Kun practically pleaded.  He caught himself from moving again, but all he wanted to do was bury his head in the grad’s neck.

“If you’re really sure you want me to,” Taeyong said, rocking back and forth nervously. He could barely stop himself from just going to Kun. God, he wanted to kiss him. “I don’t want to be friends though,” he blurted out, eyes widening once he realized what he said. What the fuck did he just do?

Kun eyes widened and once he processed what Taeyong had said he flew the rest of the way across the room to take the grad into his arms. Tilting his head to make sure Taeyong could see his lips Kun whispered, “Neither do I.”  He leaned down a little and allowed his lips to hover just over Taeyong’s. He wanted to kiss the grad, he really did, but a part of him was too scared to.

Taeyong blinked and suddenly Kun was in front of him, holding his arms and inches away from his face. Taeyong glanced at his mouth before looking up into his eyes. “You don’t?” he whispered, practically holding his breath.

Kun shook his head as he met Taeyong’s eyes.  He took a deep breath, “Hyung, you mean so much to me,” he paused for a moment before continuing, “I like you a lot and I want to be more than just friends.”  Kun swallowed nervously as he waited for Taeyong’s response.

“I don’t know what to say, Kun-ah,” Taeyong said, carefully pulling himself out of Kun’s hold, “I really like you too, but I don’t think this is a good idea. I’m sorry.”

Kun nodded and took a step back from Taeyong.  The last bit of hope he had was shattered and his eyes immediately shot to the floor.  He fiddled with his keys in his pocket for a moment before looking back up. “Why? If we both like each other why isn’t this a good idea?” Kun respected Taeyong’s decision to not be with him, he didn’t entirely blame the grad, but he felt that he at least deserved to know the reasoning behind it.  

Taeyong sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Being friends with a deaf person, being tutored by a deaf person, is so completely different from sleeping with them or dating them,” he said softly, “I don’t want to keep putting myself in a position to get hurt.”

Kun’s chest ached as the realization that Taeyong didn’t trust him hit him.  He took another few steps back and let his eyes trace the outlines of his shoes.  He took a couple breaths to compose himself before he spoke up again. “Hyung, I still care about you a lot and this doesn’t change my feelings for you, but I can’t force you into anything you would be uncomfortable with.  I’ll be here if you change your mind,” Kun said, his eyes still locked on the floor. Kun wanted to prove to Taeyong that he wasn’t going to hurt him, but he couldn’t fight for this anymore. He really didn’t want to lose Taeyong, but at this point he didn’t have a choice.  The grad had made his decision and Kun needed to accept it.

“Can I tell you how it happened?” Taeyong blurted out. Maybe that would help Kun understand why Taeyong was so cautious. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the senior; he was just scared.

Kun’s eyes widened and he looked up in surprise.  He didn’t expect Taeyong to be so open, especially not now.  “Of course,” Kun said, “you can tell me anything.” He didn’t dare step any closer, but he kept his eyes fixed on Taeyong’s.  

“We should sit down,” Taeyong said, gesturing to the couch. He bit at his lip nervously. He hasn’t really successfully opened up about this stuff to anyone before. Most people didn’t care enough to want to know.

Kun nodded and wordlessly made his way over to the couch.  He sat down and looked expectantly at Taeyong. He couldn’t begin to imagine how hard this was for the grad, but he was glad that Taeyong was willing to open up to him.  

Taeyong sat down across from Kun and took a deep breath before starting. “When I was nine, almost ten, I got really sick,” he explained, “I spent probably a month in the hospital, a good portion of which I was kept comatose. My fever peaked at about 42 degrees, which is high enough to do significant brain damage. And I’m really lucky to have come out of it with just deafness. I could have easily developed something that would have made learning itself much harder for me. But I got bullied. A lot. Kids would try to play with me but I wouldn’t be able to hear them and they would get frustrated and lash out. I didn’t have hearing aids then and I couldn’t really read lips all that well. And they weren’t the only ones. Teachers would leave me out of the class, wouldn’t give me any of their notes, and I fell behind by a lot. Some even requested that I be transferred out of their classroom because they weren’t willing to accommodate me,” Taeyong explained. He kept his eyes down and away from Kun so that he couldn’t see anything the senior said.

Kun let out the breath he was holding and sat back to process what he had just heard.  His mind was a rush of emotions from sympathy for Taeyong’s experience, to anger at how the other students and teachers used to treat him, but he quickly shook those feelings out of his head.  He never wanted Taeyong to feel that way again, but he didn’t know how he was going to do that yet. He opened his mouth to respond, but noticed that Taeyong was staring at the floor and closed it again.  He wanted to reach out and pull Taeyong into his shoulder, but he knew that wouldn’t be a good idea. Instead, Kun scooted a little closer to the grad and turned to face him, waiting for him to look up.

“So yeah,” Taeyong continued, “I grew up being treated by every adult around me as a burden. I lost all of my friends except for Johnny and my brother.” He took a deep breath before plowing on. “I have had boyfriends that have used it against me, usually as a control tactic. They wanted me to do weird stuff for them because they put up with my deafness, or they wanted me to give up my hearing aids and be dependent on them for things. One guy even wanted me to do it with him doggy style so that I couldn’t hear him asking for certain things and couldn’t say no to those things.” Taeyong knew he was being blunt but he had to get his point across. “I trusted all of those people at first too, Kun-ah. Now, I don’t know how to trust anyone.”

Kun felt his mouth slip into a frown and his hands curl into fists.  He was furious that people had taken advantage of Taeyong and he wished he could do something, but the past was out of his control.  The future, however, was a different story. He took a deep breath and quickly uncurled his fists not wanting Taeyong to misunderstand.  Without realizing it he began to extend a hand toward the grad, but caught himself and let it drop back into his lap.   

Taeyong finally looked up, waiting for Kun to say something, anything. He really didn’t want to lose the younger, as a friend or otherwise, but he felt stuck. “I trust you,” he mumbled, “I’m just scared.”

“I am truly sorry that all of this has happened to you, and I promise that as long as I am around that will never happen again.  I want to prove to you that there are people who legitimately care about you and aren’t going to take advantage of you. No matter how long it takes, I’ll be here,” Kun met Taeyong’s gaze, hoping his eyes showed the sincerity that his voice held.

“Thanks, Kun-ah,” Taeyong said with a soft smile. He didn’t know what to do now, how to feel. If only he weren’t such a coward. He had really fucked this up.

Kun sighed as he saw the small smile spread across Taeyong’s lips.   He took one last deep breath before sliding the rest of the way across the couch and taking Taeyong’s hand in his own.  He held it loosely enough that the grad could pull it away if he wanted to. He sat there for a moment rubbing his thumb back and forth along the back of Taeyong’s hand, all while keeping an eye on his face.  

Taeyong wasn’t quite sure what Kun was doing but he assumed the younger was collecting his thoughts. He turned their hands and threaded their fingers together loosely. Maybe this would be okay. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing to hope.

Kun breathed a sigh of relief when Taeyong didn’t pull his hand away.  He leaned toward the grad slightly, but he wouldn’t dare more any further.  He had scared Taeyong away enough and he was willing to wait for the grad to come to him, no matter how long it took.  “Everything is going to be okay, hyung. I promise,” Kun said softly as he met Taeyong’s eyes.

Taeyong was torn. Kissing Kun would take back everything that he had just said, every reason he had just given, but god did he want to kiss him. His eyes flickered back and forth between Kun’s mouth and his eyes, as if asking the younger to make the move that he wasn’t brave enough to.

Kun didn’t miss the way Taeyong’s eyes darted downward.  As scared as he was, Kun didn’t think Taeyong would run away this time.  He leaned in slowly, giving the grad the opportunity to move, and froze for a moment, leaving his lips centimeters away from the elder’s.  

Frustrated, Taeyong closed the gap, kissing Kun with probably a little more force than he had intended. He set his free hand on Kun’s thigh and pressed himself closer.

Relief surged through Kun’s body as Taeyong connected their lips.  He tightened his grip on Taeyong’s hand and hummed as the elder pressed closer.  Kun cupped Taeyong’s cheek with his free hand and tilted his head so that he could deepen the kiss.

Taeyong exhaled shakily into the kiss when Kun deepened it. His hand on Kun’s thigh tightened its grip, nails digging into the denim beneath them. God, this was...perfect.

Kun pushed himself as close to Taeyong as he could.  He wanted nothing more than to stay like this forever.  Their lips worked in perfect sync and Kun had to remind himself not to get too rough.  

Taeyong pulled away finally, needing catch his breath. Panting, he pressed his forehead to Kun’s, keeping his eyes closed. Kissing Kun felt incredible.

Kun opened his eyes as Taeyong pulled away.  He was disappointed, but he knew they both had to catch their breaths.  He let his hand slip from Taeyong’s cheek to rest on top of the grad’s hand that was still on his thigh.  Kun sat there for a moment, basking in the feeling of just being with Taeyong. He let out a soft sigh and focused on slowing down his breathing as they sat with their foreheads together.    

Taeyong opened his eyes and pulled away from Kun so he could look at him properly. The senior was so stunning and Taeyong felt so happy. After everything, how was he still so lucky?

Kun blushed and looked down when he noticed Taeyong staring at him.  Despite everything they had been through together, Kun still wasn’t sure how someone so striking could pay attention to him.  After sitting there for a moment, Kun looked up and couldn’t help but smile when he met Taeyong’s eyes. He was just so incredibly happy and he hoped Taeyong felt the same way.  

“I really like you,” Taeyong confessed, “like, a ridiculous amount for how short we’ve known each other. And I’m scared, I’m really fucking scared, but I think that we should try this.”

Kun nodded, “It’s okay to be scared, hyung.  I really like you and I want to try this too.  I’ll be here no matter what, I promise. We can take this as slowly as you need to.”  Kun couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. He was nervous of course, but he was mostly excited for what the future would hold.  

Taeyong flushed lightly and what about to lean forward and kiss Kun again when a sudden movement caught his eye. He whipped his head around just as Mark, Donghyuck, and a boy from their literature class with bright red hair - Taeyong could never remember his name - came in, talking and laughing. Go figure his own brother would cockblock him.

Kun jumped when three younger boys walked into the room.  He didn’t recognize any of them, but he assumed one of them to be Taeyong’s brother.  Kun was disappointed at the loss of their alone time, but he was excited to finally meet Mark.  He shot Taeyong a look, not sure what he should do.

“Minhyung-ah,” Taeyong admonished, “you have to warn me when you’re coming home.” “Sorry, hyung,” Mark said sheepishly. “Why don’t you guys introduce yourselves to Kun-ah? I’m going to grab some snacks,” Taeyong said as he got up. He smiled to himself as he watched the three freshmen turn toward Kun.

Kun stood up quickly and watched Taeyong leave before turning back to face the freshman.  “You must be Mark,” Kun said to the boy Taeyong addressed earlier, “I’ve heard a lot about you and it’s nice to finally meet you.  I’m Kun, I’m a friend of your brother.” The other two boys introduced themselves as Donghyuck and Renjun as they politely bowed. “It’s nice to meet you two as well,” Kun said as he returned the bow.

“You guys are all so awkward,” Taeyong said as he returned to the room with a bowl of chips and a pitcher of iced tea, “you three can go work in either the kitchen or Mark’s room. Kun and I are claiming the couch for now.” The three teens immediately fled into Mark’s bedroom, ignoring Taeyong’s calls to leave the door cracked open.

Kun sat back down with a sigh, he really hoped he wasn’t that awkward when he met Taeyong for the first time.  He had no idea what to say so he settled with, “Your brother and his friends seem nice.”

“Yeah, they’re good kids. Mark and Donghyuck are dating, so Duck practically lives here,” Taeyong explained. He placed the snacks and drink on the table before sliding into the seat next to Kun again. “As much as I would love to keep making out, I don’t need to scar their poor friend more than I’m sure he’s already been scarred, so do you wanna watch a movie?”

“Oh that’s right, you mentioned Mark was dating someone.  It’s nice to put a name to a face,” Kun said as he rested his arm on the back of the couch.  He chuckled, “A movie sounds great. What do you have in mind?”

“I mostly just have comedies,” Taeyong said, “and Netflix. Actually, there’s a new comedy special I was planning on watching if that’s alright with you?” He smiled to himself and let himself be tucked under Kun’s arm.

“Yeah, that sounds great to me,” Kun said as he reached forward to grab a couple of chips from the bowl.  He dropped one into his mouth and reached over to feed Taeyong the other.

Taeyong turned on the TV while he munched on the chip Kun fed him, blushing lightly. He navigated until he found the special on Netflix and clicked on it, making sure that the subtitles were on before settling back against Kun’s side.

Kun smiled as Taeyong pressed against him, before he started to panic.  His Korean was pretty good and he usually didn’t have trouble understanding people, but he didn’t know what to expect from the show.  He hoped the jokes didn’t contain too many word plays; he didn’t want Taeyong to think he was an idiot for not getting them.

Taeyong looked up at Kun, who looked adorably panicked, then remembered that Korean was, in fact, not his first language. “I don’t get some of the jokes,” he said, “because it’s kind of dependent on inflection, but most of his stuff is more about the image than the words themselves. It’s not, like, puns and stuff,” he assured Kun, snuggling a little closer.

Kun let out a sigh of relief.  He had no idea how Taeyong had basically read his mind, but he was grateful nonetheless.  Kun grabbed a couple more chips, and went to feed Taeyong again, but this time just as he was about to drop the chip in the grad’s mouth he yanked it back and plopped in in his own mouth.  He giggled as he munched on the chip and waited to see what Taeyong would do.

Taeyong pouted when Kun pulled the chip away and pretended to pull away. Though he would never admit it, he secretly hoped Kun would pull him back and never let go.

Kun chuckled when he saw Taeyong’s pout, but frowned when the grad began to pull away.  “And where do you think you’re going?” Kun asked with a smirk as he pulled Taeyong back against him.  He tightened his arm around the elder’s shoulder so that he couldn’t move away again. Kun leaned forward and placed a light kiss on Taeyong’s lips before pulling away, “Am I forgiven?”

“I don’t know, are you going to keep stealing my chips?” Taeyong asked, eyeing Kun suspiciously. He struggled to keep a grin down, but he was just so giddy. In the end, he failed to stop his smile and ended up hiding his face in Kun’s shoulder.

Kun couldn’t help but laugh at the grad’s reaction.  He couldn’t believe how absolutely adorable Taeyong was as he tried to hide his simile in his shoulder.  He leaned forward and grabbed a new chip from the bowl before feeding it to Taeyong, “Consider this a peace offering.”

Taeyong held Kun’s hand and ate the chip straight from his fingers to make sure that he wouldn’t lose his chip again. It occurred to him that he and Kun didn’t really define what they were, but that was an issue for another day. A buzz on his thigh distracted him and looked down to see an email. “Fuck you, Amazon,” he grumbled to himself.

Kun chuckled at Taeyong’s careful retrieval of the chip.  “What happened, hyung?” he asked, he couldn’t quite make out what Taeyong said, but the grad sounded annoyed.

Taeyong just barely caught Kun’s question when he looked back up. “My batteries were supposed to be here tomorrow but now I won’t have them until Saturday,” he said with a pout.

“Oh that’s not good.  I’m sorry, I wish there was something more I could do,”  Kun sat there for a moment. He really wish he could do something to get the batteries here faster, but he was powerless.  “Are you able to go to class for the rest of the week?” Kun asked.

Taeyong shook his head. It was unfortunate that this had happened so close to the end of the semester. “It’s fine though,” he said, “all my professors know and they send me their notes. This is my last semester anyway.”

“That’s good that your professors are accommodating,”  Kun was glad Taeyong could keep up with his work, missing a week of classes this late in the semester could be devastating.  It took Kun a minute to register Taeyong’s last sentence, “This is your last semester?” Kun was confused, he thought Taeyong was only a first year grad.

“For now, yeah,” Taeyong said, “I’m deferring until I get a job that’ll pay for the rest of it so that I can help Mark pay for his undergrad. You don’t really need a Master’s to be an editor anyway.

“Oh that makes sense.  You’re going to be an editor?”  he asked, he was surprised he didn’t know this already.  Even though he’d known Taeyong for the better half of the semester, he realized how little he actually knew about the grad.  

“I really want to be an author, but I need to make money while I write my manuscript and I’d rather work in the industry than outside of it. That’s part of why I tutor too,” Taeyong explained. Neither of them were paying attention to the show anymore, but that was okay. Talking was more interesting. “What about you? What do you want to do with your forensics degree?”

“Oh I want to be a crime scene analyst, but I still need two years of grad school before I get there.  But that stuff is boring, I want to hear about your manuscript. What is it about?” Kun knew that if he started rambling about what he wanted to do he would bore Taeyong within seconds and he didn’t want to forget to ask about his manuscript.  

“Oh, it’s just a little historical fiction novel,” Taeyong said, “it’s not even good. I wanna hear about your forensic stuff. This is probably gonna sound weird, but crime scenes are really cool to me. I just don’t understand the science.” He turned himself toward Kun entirely, completely ignoring the show.

It took Kun a second to realize that Taeyong was legitimately interested in forensics. “Well, specifically what I hope to do is similar to that project that you printed for me.  Instead of analyzing chemicals and other substances, I want to gather samples from a crime scene that could contain things like hair, blood, nails, etc that could belong to a suspect, and get the DNA from it.  The interesting part comes in trying to match the DNA to other samples to find the suspect,” Kun stopped, realizing he was rambling. “Sorry, I get a little carried away sometimes,” he said as he dropped his eyes to the floor.

“No, it’s really interesting,” Taeyong assured him, “I wish I had a better stomach for stuff like that. Looking at pictures is one thing, but actually walking onto the crime scene is completely different. I could never do that.” Reaching over, he paused the show and turned back to Kun, giving him his full attention without getting unintentionally distracted.

“Yeah it definitely takes a strong stomach.  Although it’s a lot easier, and much more interesting than being a crime scene cleaner.  That I wouldn’t be able to do.” Kun said. They talked about crime scenes, different positions people could have, and even a little bit of the analysis process in the lab.  Kun quickly lost track of time, but suddenly it dawned on him that Mark never said goodbye. “Is Mark still here? It’s getting late, doesn’t he need to catch the train home?” Kun asked.

“Oh, yeah, not anymore,” Taeyong said, a little sadly, “my parents caught him and Duck together a couple weeks ago in what I understand to be a pretty compromising position. Let’s just say that neither of us are welcome home anymore.” He tried to keep his voice light, but it was still a sore spot.

“Wow that’s horrible.  I didn’t realize your parents felt that way,”  Kun thought of his own parents, and knew that they would have done the same thing to him if he was still home.  “He’s lucky to have you. You really are a great brother,” Kun added. He wanted to lighten the mood, but he wasn’t quite sure how to.

“They did the same thing to me a few years ago,” Taeyong revealed, “Mark wasn’t even in the country when it happened so he had no idea. It was...a rough year. It took the two of us a while to patch things back up again and I just wanna do the best I can for him.” Thinking about his parents always hurt, even back when they were on speaking terms, but he did his best not to show it.

“That sounds like a horrible situation, but I’m glad you two were able to make amends.  And now you are surrounded by people that actually care about you,” Kun said as he extended his hand to hold one of Taeyong’s.  Every time he saw Taeyong upset he wanted to fix what was hurting him, but he couldn’t do that for everything. For now, all he could be was a support system.  

“Thank you, Kun-ah,” Taeyong said, squeezing the younger man’s hand, “but you’re right, it is late. Can you do me a favor and ask them if their friend is staying the night? I can’t say his name and I always feel bad for fucking it up.” He stood up and grabbed the mostly empty bowl of chips.

“Yeah absolutely,” Kun said as he stood up and headed down the hallway.  He knocked on the door at the end of the hall and peaked his head in. Mark confirmed that his friend was going to stay over and Kun headed back to the kitchen to find Taeyong.  “Renjun is staying over,” Kun said.

“Are you?” Taeyong asked as he walked to the hall closet containing the blankets, “it’s late and you shouldn’t be driving across the city.” Although he was nervous about Kun staying over, since they would have to share a bed, he felt starved for affection.

“Yeah it is pretty late, but I have an 8 am tomorrow and I would hate to bother anyone getting up so early,” Kun replied.  He really didn’t want to drive home this late, and he wanted to stay the night, but…Kun couldn’t come up with a good reason not to stay other than that he was scared.

“Mark and Duck are usually out by 7:30 anyway,” Taeyong said once he had pulled out the necessary linens. He hadn’t caught all of what Kun had said, but he saw enough, “so Duck can go to his dorm and change. I would feel bad if you drove home so late just to get up so early.”

Kun hummed, he was going to have to get up early regardless of if he had to drive home and he was already pretty tired.  “Yeah, it would be a lot easier if I could stay. I can stay on the couch if that’s easier,” Kun bit his lip, he would much prefer to sleep with Taeyong, but he didn’t want to push the grad.  

“Mark’s friend will be taking the couch, so we would need to share,” Taeyong said, “if you’re comfortable with that. It’s okay if you’re not.”

“That’s fine with me,” Kun replied. He was nervous, but he knew everything was going to be okay.  It dawned on him that he didn’t have a change of clothes and he made a mental list of things he needed to grab at his apartment in the morning.

"You're not much bigger than me; my clothes should fit you," Taeyong mumbled to himself as he made up the couch for Mark's friend. "C'mon, my room is down here," he said to Kun as he turned back around. He took the younger's hand and guided him down the hallway and into his bedroom.

“Oh perfect,” Kun said as he followed Taeyong down the hallway.  He didn’t know why he was so worried considering Taeyong seemed to always be a step ahead of him.

Taeyong let go of Kun's hand when they entered his room and rummaged through the closet, looking for some of his bigger clothes. He found a baggy shirt and a pair of long sweatpants that he then handed over to the senior. "Do you mind if I sleep without a shirt?" he asked, "I heat up a lot."

“Thank you, hyung,” Kun said as he took the clothes.  “That’s fine with me. Where’s your bathroom?” Kun asked, he suddenly remembered that Taeyong had quite a few tattoos and he wanted to ask about them.

"Down the hall next to Mark's room," Taeyong said as he looked for a pair of sweatpants for himself.

Kun headed down the hall to the bathroom to get changed and wash his face.  He set his alarm quickly before heading back to Taeyong’s room. He opened the door slowly and when he didn’t hear any opposition he headed the rest of the way into the room.

Taeyong pulled off his shirt and changed his pants while Kun was out of the room. He was nervous to sleep next to Kun, but he was also excited. This was all exciting. God, he liked Kun so much.

Kun’s breath hitched in his throat when he saw Taeyong.  His eyes roamed all over his body taking in the tattoos scattered across it.  “I like your tattoos,” Kun commented, “What are they all for?”

Taeyong looked down at his tattoos, eyes wide as if he had forgotten about them. "They're all for different things," he said.

Kun didn’t realize he was walking closer until he had moved halfway across the room.  He quickly stopped himself and honed in on the quote on Taeyong’s ribcage. “I really like that quote.  Why did you get it?” Kun asked, finally looking away from tattoo to meet Taeyong’s eyes.

Taeyong smiled slightly. "Johnny convinced me to get it when my parents first kicked me out," he said, "he has the same one but it's here." He patted the area just below his left collarbone.

Kun couldn’t help but smile at the soft expression on Taeyong’s face.  “That’s a great tattoo to get with a friend,” Kun said as he stifled a yawn.  He didn’t realize quite how tired he was until now.

Taeyong hummed and nodded. "Let's lay down and I'll tell you about the others," he said.

Kun nodded and climbed into bed. He slipped between the covers and rested his head on his hand so he could see.

Taeyong slipped into bed after Kun, feeling exposed as he laid on his side. He hadn't realized that Kun would be so interested in his tattoos.

“So exactly how many tattoos do you have?” Kun asked.  He couldn’t help his eyes from roaming as he tried to search for more.

“Seven,” Taeyong said with a smile, “these three, one on my hand, two on my back, and one on my thigh. I want to get another one soon but I don’t know what I want to get.”

“Wow,” Kun breathed, “that’s so many.  Kun dragged his eyes upwards to look into Taeyong’s eyes.  “Which one is your favorite?” he asked as he scooted a little closer to the grad.

“I don’t have a favorite,” Taeyong replied, shaking his head, “that would be choosing between myself or my brother or my best friend. I could never.”

Kun hummed, “Which is the one for your brother?”  He could spend the whole night looking at Taeyong’s tattoos, but he knew he had to go to sleep soon.

Taeyong rolled forward a bit, twisting his shoulder to show off where he had Mark’s Korean name inked into the back of his shoulder. “It’s his birth name,” he explained, “he didn’t go by Mark until high school.”

“Mhmmmmm, and what’s the other one on your back?”  Kun made a mental note to ask about the rest another time because he was getting tired and didn’t want to keep Taeyong up much later.

Taeyong twisted even more, shifting back toward his side so that he didn’t roll on top of Kun, to show off the ink sitting just above the hem of his pajama pants. This one showed the word free flowing into a small bird. “I got it just after graduation last year. Johnny, Yuta, and I went together, but we each got something different.”

“Oh I like that one,” Kun said as he yawned again.  “You’ll have to tell me about the rest tomorrow.” He slipped his hand under the pillow and laid his head down, looking expectantly up at Taeyong.

Taeyong smiled and laid down properly, dragging the blanket up to their waists. "What about you?" he asked, "any hidden ink? Piercings?"

“I got my ears pierced when I first moved here, but I hardly wear earrings anymore,” Kun said, “it seemed like a rebellious thing to do at the time.”  Sometimes he completely forgot he had his ears pierced and couldn’t remember the last time he put in a pair of earrings.

Taeyong hummed in understanding and ran his finger over his own two piercings. He had both of his earlobes and the upper cartilage of his left ear pierced. He had always wanted some more adventurous piercings, but he was too squeamish to actually get them. “I bet they looked cute,” he said.

Kun blushed and looked away, “I really only wear them for special occasions.  They didn’t look as good as I hoped and I haven’t been able to bring myself to get new ones.”  He paused for a second before looking back up, “I wish I could pull them off like you can.”

Taeyong flushed lightly at the compliment. He hadn’t even caught the beginning of what Kun had said, but it didn’t matter. Stifling a yawn with his hand, he let himself naturally crowd closer to the senior.

“I think it’s bedtime,” Kun said. He paused for a moment before putting his arm around Taeyong and pulling the grad the rest of the way towards him. “Goodnight, hyung,” he whispered as he placed a light kiss on the elder’s forehead.

Taeyong flung his arm behind him and slapped around his bedside table until he found the switch at the base of his lamp and turned it off. With a muffled sigh, he relaxed in Kun’s arms, barely even registering the light kiss on his forehead. This felt perfect.

Kun hummed happily as he tightened his arms around Taeyong.  He was already dreading waking up in the morning, but for now he was making the most of this moment.  Kun smiled happily as he drifted off to sleep. Suddenly, or at least it felt like suddenly, Kun’s alarm was going off.  He groaned and reached over to grab his phone and snooze the alarm. He quickly rolled back over and snuggled against Taeyong, he never wanted to get up but he knew he was going to have to eventually. When his alarm went off again, Kun groaned and reluctantly got out of bed.  He got dressed and left the clothes Taeyong let him borrow folded on the edge of the bed. He took one last look at Taeyong, before heading out of the bedroom. _God he’s so adorable when he sleeps._  Kun hopped in his car and sent Taeyong a text thanking him for letting him stay the night, and apologizing for leaving without saying goodbye.  After hitting send, Kun took one last look at the apartment before backing out of the driveway to head home.


	5. Chapter 5

A few weeks later, they were positively drowning in finals and Taeyong was purely stressed. Not only was he taking his own finals, but he was also helping Mark and Donghyuck, still tutoring Kun, and he had added Mark’s friend - he eventually learned his name was Renjun - into his study sessions with Kun. It turned out that the Chinese freshman was taking a similar history class and struggling just as much. Bottom line: Taeyong was about ready to crack.  _ Can we study at mine tonight? _ he texted Kun. They had progressed to the point where Kun was studying on his own and just asking Taeyong questions when needed.

Kun walked out of the student center and saw the text from Taeyong and replied “sure thing, hyung,” as he headed to his car.  He hopped in his car and headed to the grad’s apartment, not needing to punch in the address anymore. After pulling into the driveway he texted Taeyong that he was there and grabbed his backpack before heading to the front door.

Taeyong got up when he got Kun’s text, unlocking the apartment and grabbing himself a snack. He cleared off half of the table for his...well, he still didn’t know what exactly he and Kun were. When he sat down again, he was facing the door so Kun wouldn’t scare him.

Kun let himself into the apartment and locked the door behind him.  He headed to the kitchen and smiled when he saw Taeyong sitting at the table, “hey, hyung!  How are finals going for you?” Kun sat down next to Taeyong and began to take his laptop out of his bag.

Taeyong looked up, looking at Kun with tired eyes but still forcing a smile on his face. “It’s all just essays,” he said, letting his face drop, “so. Many.  _ Fucking _ . Essays.”

“Oh no,” Kun said as he reached over to rub the grads shoulders. “Make sure you take breaks and don’t burn yourself out too much.”  Kun smiled apologetically at the grad, wishing he could help.

Taeyong nodded and leaned into Kun's touch. The senior always knew how to make him feel better. "Tomorrow's Wednesday, right?" he asked tiredly.

“Yeah it is,” Kun answered. “What do you have due tomorrow?” He continued rubbing Taeyong’s back as he began to open his chemistry powerpoints on his laptop with his other hand.

"A resume," Taeyong moaned, dropping his head on the table, "and my two longest essays. My resume isn't even  _ updated _ . God, I'm gonna fail everything."

“Aw, hyung, you aren’t going to fail,” Kun said as he turned away from his laptop.  “Is there anything I can do to help?”

"Keep me focused," Taeyong requested, "don't let me get distracted until I finish everything, okay?"

“Can do!” Kun replied.  He removed his hand from Taeyong’s back and begrudgingly turned back to his laptop.  “You will earn back rub privileges when you finish your first essay,” Kun snuck a side look at Taeyong so he could see the grad’s reaction.   

Taeyong whined, already hating this. With a sigh, he turned back to his laptop and opened his resume. That was of the utmost importance. There was no point in graduating if he didn't have a job to follow it up. "When is the history exam?" Taeyong asked. He knew that he had asked a million times already, but things were flying out of his head as soon as they entered.

“Not until Thursday,” Kun replied as he chewed on his lip nervously.  He had been neglecting studying for it in favor of his chemistry and genetics finals, which definitely wasn’t the best decision he had made this semester.  

"I'll help you study tomorrow night, okay?" Taeyong offered with a tired smile. Hopefully, he would finish his essays on time, but even if he didn't, he was going to see Kun through the end of this semester.

“Oh that’s okay! Focus on your essays and I’ll ask you any questions I have.  I’ll be fine don’t worry,” he flashed a smile to make sure the grad knew he wasn’t lying.  He would much rather have Taeyong help him study, but at the end of the day he would feel better if the grad focused on his own work.  

“I promised I would help you, Kunnie,” Taeyong said, “I’m not going to stop just because I’m stressed. That isn’t fair.” He carefully read over his edited resume and sent it off to the office he was applying to. There. That was one thing he could cross off the list.

“But you have been helping me!  I wouldn’t be passing right now if it wasn’t for you.  I would feel better if you focused on your work and I promise I’ll ask you every question I have.  Now you need to get cracking on your essays,” Kun shot Taeyong the ‘get to work’ look before turning back to his computer.

“I’m mostly done,” Taeyong said, “I just need to add conclusions and straighten out my works cited and proofread. Shouldn’t take too much longer. Then I’m done!” The end was in sight, at least.

“Okay okay,” Kun sighed.  He wished he was almost done, but he still had three exams left to take.

“I’m gonna take my aids out because the air conditioner is bothering me and my ears are sweaty and itchy, so just grab me if you need my attention, okay?” Taeyong asked.

“Yeah, no problem,” Kun said.  He flipped through the rest of his powerpoints, but the information was going in one ear and out the other.  After a couple hours of “studying,” he folded his arms on the table and rested his head on them with a groan.  He really didn’t know what he was going to do for this final.

Taeyong took the devices out, turned them off, and started typing. He was just spilling words onto the page with no care as to what they actually said. He could fix them when he edited in the morning. He saw Kun lay his head down on the table and reached out with one hand to card his fingers through the younger’s hair. “Just three more days,” he said, “then you’re done.”

Kun hummed and leaned his head into Taeyong’s fingers.  He sat there for a moment before regretfully picking his head up.  He wanted to stay there forever, but knew that he would fall asleep if he let Taeyong continue.  “I know, I know,” he sighed, smiling gratefully at Taeyong. Closing his chemistry powerpoints, Kun pulled up his history notes and began to review those instead.  

Taeyong felt a buzz next to his free hand and looked at his phone to see a text from Mark. “The kids are staying at Duck and Renjun’s dorm tonight,” he announced, “how about you study until I finish my conclusions then we can go cuddle on the couch for a bit?”

“That’s sounds great,” Kun said as he turned back to his notes.  He wanted to get through them before Taeyong finished his essays.  As he read through his notes he tried to quiz himself and found that he knew most of the information.  Confident in his knowledge of history, he switched back to chemistry, hoping Taeyong would be done soon.

Taeyong rounded off one conclusion and read it over, deeming it satisfactory, before moving onto the other. Now that he had an incentive, it was easier to churn the words out. Glancing over at Kun, he even decided to burn through his works cited before saving and closing his laptop. He would still need to edit in the morning, but he was done for the night. He put his hearing aids back in and turned them on before settling his hand on the back of Kun’s neck.

Kun jumped slightly when he felt a hand on his neck.  Upon realizing that Taeyong was done, he immediately shut his laptop and threw it into his backpack.  He stood up quickly and grabbed Taeyong’s hand, practically dragging him to the living room. 

Taeyong giggled as Kun dragged him across the room and over to the couch. “You miss me that much?” he teased as he dropped onto the couch and waited for the younger to join him.

“Maybe,” Kun said with a pout as he plopped down on the couch.  He folded his legs up and scooted over so he could press himself against Taeyong.  “I don’t want to study anymore,” he whined as he buried his face in the grad’s neck.  He took one of Taeyong’s hands in his own and began playing with the grad’s fingers.

“C’mon, lay down properly,” Taeyong huffed, tossing his legs up on the couch cushion. He laid down with his head propped on the arm of the couch and tugged Kun to nestle in his arms. “You must be so stressed, Kun-ah,” he murmured.

Kun sighed as he happily snuggled into Taeyong’s arms.  “Yeah, but I should be used to this by now. Plus I’m not the only one who has this heavy of a workload.  I’m just so…burnt out.” He sighed again and closed his eyes as he readjusted so he could snuggle closer. It was nice to finally have someone to confide in who understood the stress of finals week.  Sicheng and Ten didn’t fully understand his workload and almost always brushed him off, claiming he worried too much.

Taeyong hummed and ran his hand through Kun’s hair again. “Your roots are starting to grow out,” he commented, “we should go and get our hair fixed this weekend. Before your graduation. A little end-of-semester treat.” Kun would look pretty no matter what color he had, but Taeyong would really like to see him in a reddish-brown maybe.

Kun nodded into Taeyong’s shoulder, “That sounds great.  What colors should we get?” He leaned into Taeyong’s hand as he thought of hair colors he would like to try.  He absolutely loved when the grad played with his hair and wished they could stay like this forever.

“You would look good with grey,” Taeyong said, “or a color like Johnny’s.” He knew that he wanted to do a bright red, but he wanted to surprise Kun. The younger had an obvious attachment to Taeyong’s pink locks and he wanted to see his pure reaction to red.

“Mhm, I never thought about grey.  Johnny’s hair looks really good too though.  I’ll have to think about it this week,” Kun said quietly.  He could feel himself getting drowsy, and was not the least bit opposed to taking a short nap.

Taeyong kept combing his fingers through Kun’s hair, finding that it calmed him. Kun’s hair was soft and he smiled when he saw that the younger was nearly asleep. “Take a nap, babe,” he murmured, the pet name slipping out without his notice.

Kun was half asleep, but he could’ve sworn he heard Taeyong call him “babe.”  A smile spread across his face and he tucked his face into Taeyong’s shoulder.  It dawned on him that he and Taeyong had never officially defined what they were.  He made a mental note to talk to Taeyong when he woke up before drifting off to sleep.

Taeyong felt himself getting drowsy, but he forced himself to stay awake. If Kun just dozed for a little bit, Taeyong would take a nap while he studied some more, but if he slept longer than half an hour, the elder needed to be awake so that he could wake Kun up and get him to move to the bed. Sleeping on the couch wasn’t good for either of them.

Kun blinked his eyes opened and whined at the realization that his nap was over.  He closed his eyes and snuggled into Taeyong again, not wanting to accept the reality that he had to go back to studying.

Taeyong started when he realized that Kun was awake. “Hey, sleepyhead,” he said softly, “let’s move to bed, okay?” It was nearing midnight and he had made the executive decision that he and Kun were going to bed. He helped his sleepy...whatever-he-was off the couch and guided him to bed. He was glad that Kun had worn just a t-shirt and sweatpants during the day, because it meant that he could sleep in them comfortably as well. With a gentle push, he got Kun to lay down, then turned the lights off, took his aids out, and climbed in next to him.

Kun let Taeyong pull him off the couch and leaned on him as they walked to the bedroom.  He knew he should study more, but at this point he was much too exhausted to. He quickly set his alarm, and rolled back over.  Instinctively, Kun reached his arm out and pulled Taeyong the rest of the way towards him so he could cuddle up to the elder again.   

“Wake me up when your alarm goes off,” Taeyong mumbled, sitting up to shed his shirt before pressing up close to Kun’s shirt. The senior was warm, which was perfect for the coolness of a May night.

Kun hummed as he placed a goodnight kiss on Taeyong’s forehead.  He tightened his arms around the grad and fell asleep almost immediately.  The blaring alarm cut through Kun’s dreams much too early and he groaned as he rolled over to snooze it.  He laid there for a moment, staring fondly at Taeyong’s sleeping face, before finally dragging himself out of bed.  Even though the grad told him to wake him up, Kun couldn’t bring himself to do it. Instead, he decided to grab his laptop and study in bed for a few minutes.  After grabbing his laptop from his backpack, Kun climbed back into bed and settled himself next to Taeyong, slowly rubbing his hand along the elder’s back as he reviewed his chemistry notes.   

Taeyong woke up slowly to a hand on his back. Cracking his eyes open, he found Kun next to him with one hand on his laptop and the other on Taeyong’s back. With a soft smile, Taeyong shut his eyes again, letting himself take advantage of the calmness of the morning for a little longer.

Kun’s face slowly slipped into a frown as he read through his notes.  He snuck a look at Taeyong and a soft smile found its way back to his face as he looked at the sleeping grad.  Kun slid his hand up Taeyong’s back and combed his fingers through the grad’s faded pink hair. He couldn’t wait for them to redye their hair; he missed the vibrance it used to have.  He regretfully turned back to his notes, but only got through a couple more slides before he shut his laptop. Kun let his head fall back against the headboard and closed his eyes, willing his brain to learn chemistry on its own.

Kun’s hand in his hair felt wonderful, and not just because Taeyong scalp was sensitive like that. It felt so intimate and domestic, a morning like this. “Good morning,” he said, not yet opening his eyes.

Kun picked his head up and opened his eyes when he heard the grad’s quiet greeting.  He scratched his nails lightly against Taeyong’s scalp to let him know he heard him and waited for the elder to open his eyes.

With a small groan, Taeyong forced his eyes open, looking up at his...at Kun. “You’re gonna put me back to sleep,” he said through a yawn.

Kun smiled softly and continued running his hands through Taeyong’s hair.  “Good, you can use the rest,” he said as he finally looked into Taeyong’s eyes.  His smile widened as his eyes traced over the grad’s beautiful face. He felt the smile slip as he remembered what he wanted to ask Taeyong.  He desperately wanted to make their relationship official, considering they were practically dating at this point, but he didn’t want to push Taeyong into anything he wasn’t ready for.  “Hyung,” he began slowly, “what...what are we?” He froze and began panicking, he really wasn’t sure how the grad was going to react.

Taeyong twisted until he was laying on his stomach and pushed himself up on his elbows. “What do you want us to be?” he asked cautiously. It was Taeyong’s nature to keep his heart guarded and he didn’t want to let Kun in if the younger didn’t want that level of commitment.

Kun took a deep breath as he let his hand fall to his side, “I want to be official.  I really do like you a lot and I want to be able to call you my boyfriend,” Kun smiled to himself as boyfriend rolled off his tongue, it felt so natural and absolutely perfect.  “I just don’t want to push you into anything you aren’t ready for,” he added quickly, dropping his eyes to the bed. 

“I mean, we’re basically already dating without the label,” Taeyong said sheepishly, “it would be wrong of me to say that that isn’t what I want too.”

Kun couldn’t help but beam when he looked up.  “Then let’s stop basically dating and start officially dating,” Kun said as he leaned over to gently kiss Taeyong.  

Taeyong smiled, giddy, and kissed Kun back happily. He felt so content and he knew it would only get better once the semester was officially over. “Alright, boyfriend,” he said, emphasizing the title, “let’s get up and study so you can take me on a date later.”

Kun smiled happily, but groaned as he grabbed his laptop, he really didn’t want to study anymore.  He made to move off the bed, but not before stealing one more kiss. “You know, hyung, since you’re older, shouldn’t you be the one taking me on a date?” he chided lightly as he slipped off the bed.

“Consider it payback for tutoring you,” Taeyong said with a yawn as he got up and reached for his hearing aids. He wasn’t excited to have to edit, but he was excited to finally be done with all of his assignments.

Kun chuckled, “Deal.”  He headed down the hall to the bathroom to wash up, before sitting back down at the table.  He only had a few more hours before his exam so he didn’t want to squander it. He cracked his laptop open and sighed before burying his nose in his notes.

“What time is your exam?” Taeyong asked as he made his way out to the living room, pulling a shirt over his head. He ruffled his hair and tossed himself down at the table.

“Not ‘til two,” Kun said as he glanced at the clock on his laptop.  He groaned when he realized it was already ten and quickly turned back to his notes.  Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a granola bar he threw in it yesterday, pulled the wrapper open, and took a bite, all without looking away from his laptop.

“That is not enough,” Taeyong said, shaking his head, “I’m going to make breakfast, okay? Then I’ll help you study.” He disappeared into the kitchen, weighing the options of what he could make.

“It’s okay, hyung, I’m really not that hungry,” Kun called after him, “I’ll eat after my exam I promise.”  He knew Taeyong wasn’t going to listen to him, but Kun was too tired to argue. He sighed as he pulled out a notebook and began making notes of the concepts he needed extra review of, all while keeping a nervous eye on the clock.  

“You need to eat so you can focus,” Taeyong called back, banging around as he gathered the supplies to make french toast. He knew Kun was going to keep protesting, so he just went ahead anyway and mixed up the ingredients. He knew his boyfriend - that word made him giddy - would thank him either way.

Kun sighed and smiled as he kept writing.  He had no idea what he did to deserve Taeyong.  The grad always made sure he was happy and taken care of, even if it meant putting off his own work.  Kun promised himself that he was going to make it all up to Taeyong the minute his finals were over.

Fifteen minutes later, Taeyong had a small stack of french toast on a plate, which he carried out to the table. He set it down then darted back into the kitchen for plates, utensils, and syrup. “Tada,” he said when he was finished and seated, “breakfast.”

“Thank you, hyung,” Kun said as he grabbed himself two pieces.  He decided to use breakfast as a small break so he pushed his laptop and notebook to the side.  He took a couple bites and hummed happily, “This is really good.” 

“Are you studying chem or history?” Taeyong asked as he ate his breakfast. He wasn’t usually one to eat breakfast, but he wanted to make sure that Kun was fully prepared for this exams, so that meant he had to eat too. At least he knew how to cook properly.

“Chemistry, but I’m about to give up on it.  There isn’t much more I can do for this one,” Kun sighed.  He really should have been focusing on history, but he didn’t.  Last time, he reviewed his history notes, he thought he was okay, but now that he thought about it, he wasn’t so sure.  On top of that he still had his genetics final on Friday. He shook his head and tried to distract himself by looking over his notes one last time, the rest of the french toast forgotten on his plate.  

“What do you have first?” Taeyong asked, still munching on his breakfast. He was hungrier than he had realized and was about ready to steal Kun’s abandoned food.

“Chemistry, which is in… three hours,” Kun said as he looked at the clock.  “Do you want this? I’m sorry, but I can’t finish it,” Kun said apologetically as he pushed his plate toward Taeyong.  He didn’t want to seem ungrateful, but he really couldn’t bring himself to eat anymore.

“Do you have time in between chem and history?” Taeyong asked as he pulled Kun’s plate over and picked at the pieces of french toast absently. He pulled out his own laptop and opened his essays.

“History is actually tomorrow morning, so I have time to study tonight,” Kun said as he turned back to his notes.  He reviewed on and off for the next couple of hours before regretfully getting up from the table to head to campus.  “I’ll see you tonight,” Kun said as he kissed Taeyong goodbye. “Good luck with your essays,” he called as he walked out of the door.  The rest of the week was excruciating, but before he knew it Kun was walking out of his last final on Friday. He hopped in his car feeling relieved that he was finally done, and excited because he and Taeyong were going to get their hair redyed.  He pulled into Taeyong’s driveway and texted his boyfriend, Kun would never getting tired of saying that, that he was there.

Taeyong got Kun’s text and rushed downstairs, excited to see his boyfriend. “Congratulations!” he said as soon as he got in the car, “how does it feel, graduate?” He leaned over the console and gave Kun a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Hi, hyung,” Kun greeted chipperly as Taeyong got in the car, “I feel so relieved to be done.  I really needed a break.” Kun began to back out of the driveway and head off to the hairdresser’s.  “Did you finally decide on a color?”

“Yes, but it’s a surprise, okay? I don’t want anything to ruin your reaction,” Taeyong said, teasing a little. “Are you ready for graduation?”

“Aw come on, hyungggg,” Kun whined as he stuck his lip out.  He knew Taeyong wouldn’t budge, but he couldn’t help but pout at being kept in the dark.  “Oh definitely. It’s been a long four years,” Kun sighed.

"Are your parents coming for graduation?" Taeyong asked tentatively. He didn't want to ruin the relaxed mood, but he needed to know if he had to pretend to be just a tutor for a few days.

“No, they aren’t coming,” Kun replied, “They don’t know even know that graduation is this weekend.  I haven’t talked to them since I left.” Kun sighed, he didn’t think about his parents often and he talked about them even less.

“I’m sorry, Kun-ah,” Taeyong said apologetically, regretting that he had even asked, “if it makes you feel better, all of us will be there!”

“Oh don’t worry, hyung. You didn’t know,” Kun smiled.  He took one hand off of the wheel and reached over to grab one of Taeyong’s.  “All of the people I care about will be there and that’s what matters.” He interlocked their fingers and gave Taeyong’s hand a squeeze.

Taeyong squeezed Kun’s hand in response, smiling softly. He hummed and mouthed along to the radio as he watched the buildings pass by.

Soon enough they pulled into the hairdresser’s and Kun reluctantly let go of Taeyong’s hand so he could get out of the car.  He had finally decided on a nice mahogany and he was anxious to see what Taeyong was going to do.

Taeyong got out of the car and waited for Kun, taking the younger’s hand again and hurrying toward the shop. He was excited to get this underway. He had decided he was also going to clip it high enough that it was above his ears, which he hadn’t done in years.

Due to a mix-up in the scheduling, Kun had to go to a different part of the salon to get his hair dyed.  He was disappointed, but it made him even more excited to see what color Taeyong chose. Kun was out before Taeyong, and he sat scrolling through his phone, excited to show his boyfriend how his hair turned out.

Taeyong was excited to show Kun his hair. He had gone for a greenish blue color, which quite honestly made him look like a mermaid of sorts, and it looked hot. Kun was done before him and was in the waiting area. Taeyong thanked his hairdresser and made his way out to the front. “Well?” He said as he entered the room, “what do you think?”

Kun lifted his eyes from his phone and his mouth dropped open.  He quickly stood up and walked over to Taeyong so he could run his fingers through the elder’s hair.  “It looks incredible,” Kun breathed. He never thought he’d see a color other than pink that suited Taeyong so well, but he was proven very wrong.

Taeyong giggled and ran a hand through Kun’s own reddish-brown hair. “Your’s too,” he said. He pulled away briefly so that he could pay for the treatments then dragged Kun out of the shop. “Let’s go for ice cream,” he said cheerfully.

Kun happily let himself get dragged to the car, and quickly took Taeyong’s hand in his own once they had both climbed in.  The whole drive to the shop he kept sneaking looks at Taeyong’s hair. He couldn’t get over how absolutely  _ gorgeous  _ his boyfriend looked with green hair.  Kun wasn’t quite sure he’d ever get over it.

Taeyong received compliments from all of his friends over the next week on his hair. By the time Kun and Ten’s graduation rolled around, he was almost getting tired of it, although he accepted every one shyly. Kun looked amazing too. The mahogany color really suited him and Taeyong smiled proudly as he crossed the stage to receive...well, his diploma holder, in any case. “I’m so proud of you!” he cried, hugging Kun tightly when the ceremony was finally over. Leaning up, he kissed his boyfriend squarely on the lips.

“Thank you, hyung,” Kun replied giddily as he returned the kiss.  He grabbed Taeyong’s hand and hugged the grad close, tucking his head into his neck.  Suddenly a familiar voice pulled him away, and he gasped when he came face to face with his parents.  He immediately dropped Taeyong’s hand and took a step back from the elder. “What are you doing here?” he asked incredulously, his face now pulled into a stern frown.  He didn’t think his parents were coming and was not the least bit thrilled to see them.

Taeyong looked around Kun curiously and took a step away when he saw two stern looking adults. The man was a spitting image of Kun. These must be his parents. This was definitely not a conversation that he needed to be a part of, but he stayed by Kun’s side to offer support. His boyfriend did not look happy.

Kun shot an apologetic look in Taeyong’s direction before turning to face his parents.  He found out that his mother had been keeping an eye on the dates for events so that they could come.  His father didn’t hesitate to make a comment about disliking Kun’s hair color and asking who Taeyong was.  Kun introduced Taeyong as his history tutor and didn’t miss the disapproving look his father shot Taeyong. The icing on the cake was when Kun’s father asked him how someone who was deaf was able to teach his son history.  Kun quickly jumped to Taeyong’s defense saying that although it was hard at times, Taeyong was the sole reason he was able to walk for graduation. Kun felt his anger bubbling and couldn’t wait for the conversation to be over.  He didn’t expect to see them and quite frankly he wished they hadn’t come at all. Between his father scolding him for letting his grades slip and his mother begging him to considering engineering for grad school so he could come home, Kun couldn’t take it much longer.   

Taeyong waited patiently by Kun’s side, nose scrunching as his parents continued to badger his boyfriend rather than congratulate him. He caught Kun’s father eyeing his hearing aids and asking his son directly how a deaf person could be a capable tutor. “Yeah, it was difficult, but I still passed, so why does it matter?” Kun said coldly, not even looking at Taeyong. The older man blinked. He didn’t realize that Kun felt like that. Pushing a tight smile up on his face, he touched his boyfriend’s elbow. “I’m going to take off,” he said, keeping his voice guarded, “congratulations again, Kun-ssi.” With that, he walked away.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter contains smut.

_ Kun-ssi?  _ Taeyong had never called him that even when they first met.  Kun immediately knew something was wrong and he quickly dismissed his parents saying he had a prior commitment he was going to be late to and stalked away, hoping to find Taeyong soon.  He was absolutely steaming and he just wanted to get home as soon as possible. As he searched for Taeyong, he sent him a text: “Hey, I’m really sorry about my father’s comments. I had no idea my parents were coming or I would have warned you.”  He sent a second text immediately after: “Where are you? It’s getting late and we should get home soon.”

Taeyong felt two texts come into his phone and immediately knew that they were from Kun, but he was too angry and upset to answer. He didn’t even want to talk to his boyfriend right now, not after the younger had essentially lied to him for half of a semester. It made him wonder what other things Kun had lied about. “Hey, where are you going?” Johnny asked, catching Taeyong on his way to the parking lot, Ten hanging off of his sleeve. “Home,” the younger said shortly. He ripped himself away from his best friend and stormed off.

After waiting for a response for a half an hour, Kun couldn’t wait any longer and he drove home.  He hadn’t driven to his own apartment in ages, let alone by himself. After taking a shower, and finally crawling into bed, Kun checked his phone one last time.  There was still no text from Taeyong, and Kun began to get worried. He felt horrible that his father had upset Taeyong so much and he wanted to make it up to his boyfriend, but that was something that would have to wait until they met in person.  Kun looked at his phone one last time before rolling over and attempting to fall asleep. He tossed and turned for a while before finally exhausting himself, his bed much colder now that he was alone.

Taeyong got home and immediately took a shower. He didn’t even want to think about Kun. It hurt too much. He couldn’t believe that the younger had been so dishonest with him, especially when he knew that Taeyong was so insecure about how his hearing impacted his ability to teach. He wasn’t angry anymore, just sad. He had really trusted Kun and the younger had broken that trust. Leaving his phone in his jeans on the floor, Taeyong cried himself to sleep.

When he woke up in the morning, Kun still hadn’t received a text from Taeyong.  He was absolutely panicked and quickly sent the elder another text: “Hyung, I understand if you don’t want to talk about it, but please at least let me know you are okay.”  Kun was ready to jump in his car and drive to his boyfriend’s apartment, but he wouldn’t dare do that unless Taeyong invited him over. In the meantime, he tried to distract himself by emailing his boss for his summer schedule and cleaning his apartment.  He didn’t get much done and instead spent the majority of the day pacing around his living room.

Taeyong woke up with a swollen face. He felt defeated. He had trusted Kun  _ so much _ , but the younger man had blown that trust to bits. If there was one thing that Taeyong hated, it was people lying to save his feelings. With a sigh, he dug his phone out of his discarded jeans and snorted when he saw another text from Kun. “I’m fine,” he replied back, leaving it at just that.

Kun jumped when his text tone sound and immediately fished his phone out of his pocket.  His heart dropped when he read Taeyong’s two-worded text. He knew the elder was lying, and it hurt that Taeyong wouldn’t talk to him.  They had been so open with each other and Kun couldn’t figure out why the elder had suddenly shut him out. “Hyung, can I please come over?  I need to talk to you in person. I need to see you,” Kun felt the desperation in his text, but he didn’t care. This is exactly how he felt when he almost lost Taeyong the first time, and he was not about to let that happen again.

Taeyong snorted when he saw Kun’s reply.  _ Yeah, because I’m totally gonna let you lie to my face again _ , he snarked to himself. However, Taeyong was adult enough to know that they needed to talk this out. He didn’t want to just give in though, so he made sure to send a reply that kept him in control of the situation. “Come get your clothes.” Well. That wasn’t what he intended, but he supposed it would be just as effective, considering the amount of Kun’s clothing lying around his apartment.

Kun’s heart shattered and he had to sit down when he saw Taeyong’s text.  He took a few deep breaths before replying: “be there soon.” He cursed his parents for showing up to his graduation as he dragged himself off of the couch.  He angrily wiped away tears that had found their way to his eyes as he headed out the door. He wasn’t going to cry, not yet.

Even though he didn’t expect it to go that far, Taeyong did collect all of Kun’s clothes in a bag, which he left on the couch. The only exception was a t-shirt that he found wedged under his pillow. That could stay there. He cleaned up the rest of the apartment, leaving it sparkling. He was nervous. If this went south, he would likely be the only one getting hurt, not Kun.

Kun sat in the driveway of Taeyong’s apartment for a few minutes.  His hands were shaking and he couldn’t bring himself to text the elder that he was there.  Kun had no idea what to expect from this conversation, but he was terrified of the possibility of leaving without a boyfriend.  He sighed and forced his trembling fingers to draft a message. Kun had fought so hard to convince Taeyong to trust him enough to date him and he wasn’t going to let that go to waste.  He liked Taeyong so much that the possibility of losing him forever was causing Kun’s chest to tighten. Finally, he pressed send and climbed out of the car. He waited at the front door, not daring to let himself in.

When Kun didn’t let himself in within a few minutes of Taeyong receiving his text, he went over and opened the door, finding his boyfriend - could he still call him that? - waiting in the hall. “Well?” he said impatiently, “were you ever going to come in? Or was that another lie you were selling me on?”

Kun’s eyes widened and his mouth opened and closed at Taeyong’s sudden outburst.  He had never seen the elder so angry before and he wasn’t sure how to react. “Another lie?” Kun whispered as he stepped into the apartment, “Hyung, what are you talking about?”  He racked his brain for a time when he had lied to the elder, but was coming up empty.

Taeyong shut the door behind Kun and crossed his arms. “ _ It was difficult, but I still passed _ ,” he recited, “I may be deaf, but I’m not stupid. All semester you’ve been telling me that you’re graduating because of me, but I guess it was just in spite of me, wasn’t it?”

Kun felt his chest tighten at the realization that Taeyong wasn’t mad at his father’s comment, he was mad at  _ him. _  He opened his mouth to speak, but his voice caught it his throat.  “Hyung,” he finally choked out, “That’s… that’s not what I meant…” he trailed off lamely.  “I did graduate because of you, but…” he stopped. He didn’t know how to explain himself and he didn’t want to make anything worse.  He stood there with his head hung low, not knowing what to do or even to say.

“I  _ trusted _ you,” Taeyong said, voice breaking as tears gathered in his eyes, “you made me feel like my disability didn’t  _ matter _ , like I was still  _ normal _ , but I guess I was just being naive.” He couldn’t even bring himself to look at Kun. It hurt too much.

Kun looked up and felt his heart break as he took in the sight of his teary-eyed boyfriend with his eyes glued to the floor.  He took a deep breath, but that did nothing to calm down his trembling body. Finally Kun found the nerve to speak, “I didn’t mean to hurt you.  I didn’t expect my parents to come, and I knew they would make comments about me, but I didn’t think they would say anything about you. My father’s comment infuriated me and all I wanted to do was defend you.  I apologize for hurting you, I really do. That comment was made without thinking, and I will regret it for a long time. I completely understand if you don’t want to talk to me anymore, and I am sorry for breaking your trust.”  Kun kept his eyes on the elder, and took a step back, waiting for the inevitable. 

Taeyong was physically shaking. He didn’t know what to do or say. He simply couldn’t forgive Kun that easily. What his boyfriend said had really damaged his trust, especially since it was made without thinking. The way Taeyong saw it, things said without thinking often demonstrated exactly what the speaker truly thought. Kun could say that he didn’t care all he wanted, but it was obvious what he really thought. As much as he liked Kun and as desperate as he was to not be alone anymore, Taeyong wasn’t sure if he could stay with someone who saw him as a burden.

Tears had found their way back to the corners of Kun’s eyes, but he quickly wiped them away.  He had fucked it up and there was no going back. Kun knew that no apology could ever fix what he had said, and he hated himself for speaking so carelessly.  All he wanted was for Taeyong to be happy, and if that meant without him, he had to accept it. “You wanted me to get my clothes,” was all he could whisper.

“I didn’t mean that,” Taeyong said, holding back his own sobs, “they’re on the c-couch if you want to,” he had to choke out the last word, “leave.”

“I don’t want to leave,” Kun admitted.  “Hyung, I like you a lot and your disability doesn’t and will never change how I feel about you.  I just want you to be happy and if that means leaving I’m...I’m willing to go.” His voice broke at the last word and he had to bite his lip to keep from sobbing.

“I don’t know how to trust you anymore,” Taeyong said shakily, barely keeping himself together. He was not going to cry in front of Kun. That was not going to happen.

Kun nodded and hung his head sadly. He knew Taeyong had trust issues and he was kicking himself for not being more careful.  All Kun wanted to do was wrap Taeyong up in his arms and never let go. He had never seen the elder look so broken and it destroyed him that it was completely his fault.  “I don’t blame you, hyung.” Kun whispered. He really didn’t blame the grad for being upset and he wasn’t entirely sure he even deserved forgiveness.

“I don’t want this to be over,” Taeyong said softly, “but I don’t know what to do. I’m not even angry anymore, I’m just...sad.” He wrapped his arms around himself, keeping his eyes on Kun.

“I don’t either,” Kun whispered.  He chewed his bottom lip. It was taking everything he had not to hug Taeyong, but he was pretty sure that was the last thing the elder wanted.  He felt a sob rise in his chest as he meet Taeyong’s sad eyes.

Taeyong took a deep breath and looked at Kun squarely. “I’m gonna...I’m gonna keep your shirts, and talk to Johnny,” he said, “a-and I’ll call you when I’m ready. When I’m okay.”

Kun nodded, “I’ll be here no matter how long it takes, hyung.”  He turned around to let himself out and headed to his car. The whole ride home he felt numb.  It wasn’t until he had gotten home and crawled into bed that he lost it. He began to sob and couldn’t bring himself to stop.  He mumbled “I’m so sorry, hyung” over and over to himself until his throat was raw. Kun couldn’t bring himself to get up to shower, or even eat, so he laid in bed until he exhausted himself enough to finally fall asleep.

Taeyong felt the tension flood out of him when Kun left, but not in the good way. Feeling numb, he picked up his phone and texted Johnny. He felt bad for ruining Ten’s graduation with his problems, but he needed his best friend to tell him what to do.

Kun blinked his eyes open and rolled over to grab his phone.  His back ached from falling asleep curled up in a ball and he had no idea what time it was.  He saw a text from Ten wondering where he was and he quickly responding that he was home and that he needed him.  Kun dragged himself out of bed, knowing Ten would be at his door within minutes, and winced when he looked into the mirror and saw his bloodshot eyes and tear stained cheeks.  Before he knew it, Kun was sitting on his couch sobbing hysterically into Ten’s shoulder. “I-I fucked up, Ten. I’ve ne-never felt this way about an-anyone and I-I blew it,” Kun could barely get through his sentence as Ten sat there rubbing his shoulder.  “He treats me so we-well and all I did was hurt him. I don’t know wh-what to do. I just want him to be ha-happy, but I don’t want to lo-lose him.” He couldn’t talk anymore through the lump that had formed in his throat and began to cry harder, completely missing Ten typing away furiously on his phone.

Taeyong didn’t like to cry in front of Johnny. The older boy became such a  _ mom _ and that was Taeyong’s job, god dammit. This time, though, he wasn’t able to hold himself back. Everything was still so painful and he felt hopeless. How was he supposed to trust Kun again? The one thing, the one insult he would ever care about, that had been the first thing Kun had picked on, no matter how intentional, and they had only been officially dating for a little over a week. Taeyong was currently sitting on the couch, knees pulled to his chest with a blanket around his shoulders, while Johnny wet a washcloth in the bathroom. “You know,” the elder said when he came back and started to wipe Taeyong’s cheeks with the cold cloth, “he  _ really _ likes you. Anyone can see that. I’m sure he wouldn’t do something like on purpose.” “I know,” Taeyong mumbled miserably, “that just makes it worse.”

“Kun,” Ten began cautiously, “you two haven’t been dating that lo-.”  Kun quickly cut him off, “I know, Ten, but I’ve known him for most of the semester, and I can’t explain it, but he just means so much to me.”  Kun sniffled. Ten’s eyes widened, “If you really care about him then everything will work itself out. He just needs some time.” Ten quickly pulled out his phone to text Johnny: “Hey, I’m with Kun, and I don’t know what to do.  He’s hysterical and keeps going on about how he fucked up and wants to fix this. He really cares about Taeyong and I want to help them.” He pressed send and continued rubbing Kun’s shoulder as his friend cried.

“I thought he liked me,” Taeyong said in a small voice, hugging his knees tightly. “Ten says he’s in hysterics right now,” Johnny said, typing out a reply on his phone. Taeyong felt awful. He hated making anyone upset. “You know that’s kind of a good thing, right? It means he cares and he feels bad,” Johnny said as he joined Taeyong on the couch. “I know,” Taeyong mumbled, leaning against his best friend. Truthfully, he was ready to forgive Kun. He knew that the younger had just said it because he was put on the spot and trying to get rid of his parents, but he couldn’t shake the thought of “what if he does it again?” “Can Ten let us know when Kun calms down?” he asked. Johnny relayed the message.

Ten look down at his phone as it buzzed. “Who’s that?” Kun sniffed as he looked up.  “Johnny,” Ten replied. “Taeyong wants to know when you calm down. I think he wants to talk to you,” Ten said as he replied with a simple “okay.”  “You texted Johnny?” Kun asked in disbelief as he sat up, “why!?” Ten sighed as he look at Kun, “Taeyong obviously means a lot to you and he deserves to know that.  I want my best friend to be happy and if fixing this is gonna do that then that’s what I’m gonna do. Now let’s get you cleaned up,” Ten dragged Kun off the couch and into the bathroom so the Chinese man could wash his face.  Forty minutes later, Ten texted Johnny back, letting him know that Kun had calmed down.

When Johnny told Taeyong that Kun was ready to talk, the younger panicked a little. He still hadn’t prepared what he wanted to say. Johnny had gone home to give Taeyong and Kun their space. Taking a deep breath, Taeyong picked up his phone and facetimed Kun.

Kun nearly jumped out of his skin when his phone rang.  Ten gave him a nod before escorting himself out. Kun headed to his bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed. He took a deep breath before answering the phone.

“Kun-ah,” Taeyong said when his boyfriend answered the call, “are you okay?” His own voice was scratchy, making it obvious that he had been crying, but he wanted to check on Kun first. He was losing his confidence with every second.

Kun’s eyes widened and he felt a lump forming in his throat again.  After everything, even after Kun’s horrible comment, Taeyong was  _ still _ more worried about Kun them himself.  “Hyung,” Kun choked out, “why are you worried about me?  I should be asking you that.” Kun took a deep breath trying to compose himself.  He really didn’t know what he did to deserve his boyfriend.

“Ten said that you were really upset,” Taeyong explained, “that’s why I waited so long to call. I-I’m sorry I yelled at you.” That wasn’t exactly what he had intended to say, but it was a good jumping off point, he guessed. Knowing Kun, he would accept it anyway.

“Of course I’m upset,” Kun admitted, “I have a beautiful boyfriend, who cares about me more than he cares about himself, and I hurt him.”  Kun couldn’t stop the tears and he didn’t try. “Hyung, I’m so sorry and nothing I can do will ever make it up to you, but I swear you mean the world to me.”  Kun wiped the tears away and stared at his phone. “I’m so sorry,” he mumbled one last time before dropping his eyes.

“I’m not saying that it doesn’t still hurt,” Taeyong said slowly, mulling his words over, “but I don’t want to lose you, Kunnie, I don’t. I want to fix this. But if it...if it happens again, I can’t.” He stared at Kun through the phone, wishing his boyfriend was with him instead.

“I don’t want to lose you either,” Kun said.  He knew he sounded desperate but he didn’t care. “Hyung,” he began slowly, “can I come over? I...I need you.”  He was scared Taeyong would say no but he had to ask. He really missed being with the grad.

Taeyong exhaled, already halfway to the door. “Mark’s gonna be home soon,” he said, digging through the bag of Kun’s clothes for his favorite sweatshirt and pulling it over his head, “I’ll come to you.” He grabbed his keys and wallet and ran out the door.

“Okay,” Kun said as the call disconnected.  He took a couple deep breaths and then headed to the bathroom.  He winced as he saw how bloodshot his eyes still were, but he quickly washed his face before heading to the living room to wait for his boyfriend to arrive.

Taeyong drove as fast as he was legally allowed to and was at Kun’s door in less than twenty minutes. He took a deep breath before knocking, waiting for his boyfriend with bated breath.

Kun jumped at the knock and practically sprinted to the door. He swung it open and dragged Taeyong inside.  “I’m so sorry, hyung,” he said as he enveloped the grad in a hug. He buried his head in the elder’s neck mumbling apology after apology.

Taeyong fell into Kun’s arms, hugging his boyfriend tightly. They stood in Kun’s doorway for a few minutes until Taeyong finally pulled away, eyes wet, and closed the door behind him. He stared at his boyfriend for a moment before cupping both sides of his jaw and kissing him.

Kun grabbed Taeyong by the waist and pulled the grad flush against him.  He tilted his head and deepened the kiss. He didn’t care how rough he got; he was just happy to be kissing his boyfriend again.

Taeyong moved his hands down to rest against Kun’s chest, pressing himself closer and kissing Kun deeply. It had only been two days, but he had missed this so much. He took a step forward, pushing Kun back until they both toppled onto the couch. “Ten’s gone, right?” he asked as he pulled away.

“Yeah he’s gone,” Kun breathed.  He pulled Taeyong against him and reattached their lips.  He kissed Taeyong roughly and swiped his tongue across the elder’s lips eager for more.

Taeyong grinned and kissed Kun again, parting his lips slightly as he did so. Kun was so hot and Taeyong couldn’t believe that he had almost let him go. He adjusted his position on top his boyfriend and ended up straddling Kun’s thighs.

Kun eagerly pushed his tongue into Taeyong’s mouth and dominated the kiss.  He kissed Taeyong with a passion he never knew he had, wishing this moment would never end.  He pulled Taeyong the rest of the way against him again and pushed his leg up.

Taeyong felt Kun’s leg press up between his thighs and rolled his hips down without thinking. Once he realized what he had done, he pulled back, face bright red, and mumbled an apology.

Kun smirked as he pulled away. “Eager are we?” he asked as he pushed his leg up again.  He didn’t give Taeyong a chance to respond before he reattached their lips.

Taeyong’s responding whine was muffled by Kun’s mouth and quickly turned into a soft moan. Kun was such a good kisser, it was unbelievable. He had obviously had practice and Taeyong’s head was suddenly filled with the image of his boyfriend in a number of compromising positions. He moaned into Kun’s mouth again, louder this time.

Kun eagerly swallowed Taeyong’s moans as he adjusted his position on the couch.  He kissed the elder fervently as he pushed his shirt up his torso. “Hyung,” he moaned into the kiss.  He didn’t realize how much he missed his boyfriend until now, and he was not about to squander this.

Taeyong pulled away briefly to pull his shirt over his head then was kissing Kun again. His lean muscles rippled as he moved, the ink on his skin moving with them. One of his legs slipped off the edge of the couch, foot landing on the floor with a thud, but he just used it to give him an extra edge to rut against Kun.

Kun groaned as Taeyong grinded against him.  He could feel himself getting hard and he didn’t know how much more of this he could take.  “Do you want to move this to the bedroom?” he asked as he pulled away, panting heavily.

"Yeah," Taeyong said, panting as he nodded. He stood up, pulling Kun with him and grabbed his shirt and sweatshirt off the floor. "Lead the way," he said with a smile.

Kun nodded as he grabbed Taeyong’s hand and guided him the bedroom.  He pushed the elder onto the bed and pulled his own shirt off before climbing onto the bed.  He draped himself over Taeyong before reattaching their lips. Kun allowed his hand to snake between them and palmed the elder through his jeans.

Taeyong’s hands trailed down Kun’s sides until they settled on his torso. He gasped when Kun grabbed his crotch. Kun’s hand was hot and heavy between them and Taeyong just wanted to feel everything.

Kun pulled away, with a smirk on his face, a he began to slowly unzip the elder’s pants. “Lift your hips,” he growled into Taeyong’s ear.

"Feisty," Taeyong said, raising his eyebrows, "make me." Kun was hot and Taeyong...well, Taeyong was as bottom as they come.

Kun raised his eyebrows as he looked down at his boyfriend, he never expected Taeyong to be such a...brat. He smirked and jerked Taeyong’s hips up by the belt loops.  Kun reattached his lips to the elder’s, easily dominating the kiss as he pulled off Taeyong’s jeans.

Taeyong gasped when Kun suddenly jerked his hips up. It was so forcefully and so, so hot. He opened his mouth pliantly when Kun kissed him again. They had barely started and he was already so gone.

Kun smirked into the kiss and eagerly deepened it.  He pulled off Taeyong’s boxers as well and pushed the elder’s hips back onto the bed.  He suddenly pulled away, panting heavily, and slipped off of the bed. Kun unzipped his own jeans slowly, all while keeping eye contact with Taeyong, he wanted to tease the elder as much as he could.

Taeyong felt so exposed in front of his boyfriend, with Kun's eyes raking over his body. He folded his legs together shyly, his own eyes looking over Kun. The younger was toned, his muscles defined but not sculpted, and Taeyong didn't think he had ever been more turned on.

Kun groaned when he saw the twinge of pink coloring Taeyong’s cheeks. The elder looked absolutely irresistible, despite how shy he was acting.  Kun quickly pulled his jeans and boxers off, and stepped out of them as he stalked back to the bed. He eagerly climbed back onto the bed so he could kiss the elder again. Slowly, he slid down the bed to place a light kiss on the head of Taeyong’s cock. He then brought his hand up to grab Taeyong’s cock.

Taeyong whined and pouted when Kun pulled away from their kiss, but that quickly became a gasp when the younger kissed his cock before beginning to jerk him off. "Feels good, Kunnie," he moaned softly. Although he hoped Kun was going to do more, he wouldn't be upset if they just did this. He would take anything at this point, so long as both he and Kun got off.

Kun moaned at the praise and teased his tongue along Taeyong’s slit before taking the head of his cock into his mouth.  He continued to move his hand lazily up and down Taeyong’s shaft as his free hand came up to grip the elder’s thigh. 

Taeyong gasped when Kun’s mouth closed over the head of his cock. He had to fight the urge to bury his fingers in his boyfriend’s hair. He whimpered as Kun continued stroking what his mouth didn’t cover. It had been way too long since there was anything near his cock but himself and he was overly sensitive as a result. Hopefully, Kun liked that.

Kun hummed as he felt Taeyong’s cock twitch in his mouth.  He loved how responsive the elder was. Kun pushed his head down, and tightened his grip on the elder’s thigh.

Taeyong was so fucking hard. Kun was hot, and Kun’s mouth was hot, and it was all so much. He felt himself crawling closer to the edge and told himself there was no way he was coming this soon.

Kun pushed himself off of Taeyong’s cock with a gasp.  He wiped the spit off of his lips with the back of his hand as he sat there, panting heavily.  Kun caught sight of a new tattoo on Taeyong’s right hip and stared at it for a moment before kissing his way up Taeyong’s torso. He latched himself onto the elder’s neck and began nipping at and biting the sensitive skin.

Taeyong’s arms came up around Kun’s shoulders and his head tipped back as the younger nipped at his neck, making him moan softly. “Kun-ah,” he whined, “you’re such a tease.”

Kun smirked into Taeyong’s neck and ground his hips down, searching for much needed friction.  He continued sucking on the elder’s neck, determined to leave him with a dark purple bruise to wake up to.

Taeyong’s gasped again as Kun rolled his hips. He could feel the younger’s cock against his hip and he wanted it inside him desperately. He just didn’t know if Kun wanted to go that far yet.

After a few more moments, Kun pulled away and looked down at his handy work.  Satisfied, he switched his attention to Taeyong. He still didn’t know what he did to deserve Taeyong and he wanted to prove how much the elder truly meant to him.  “Do you want to do this?” Kun panted.

“So much,” Taeyong breathed, “I want you so bad, Kunnie.” He reached up and brushed his thumb over Kun’s cheek, cupping his jaw with his hand.

Kun grinned and leaned down to kiss Taeyong before reaching over to grab a bottle of lube from his nightstand.  He quickly slicked up fingers and turned back to Taeyong. He teased the elder’s rim as he reattached their lips, and then slowly pushed a finger in.

Taeyong didn’t even notice what Kun was doing until there was a finger breaching his entrance. He gasped, thighs automatically pulling inward at the suddenness of it. “Why are your hands so fucking cold?” he whined.

Kun panicked for a moment before the smirk found its way back onto his face.  “Don’t worry, hyung. I’ll warm you right up,” he growled into Taeyong’s ear as he pushed another finger in.

Taeyong gasped again, scrambling for purchase as his fingers dug into Kun’s back. It had been so long that even two fingers was overwhelming. “A-A little slower,” He panted.

Kun hissed as Taeyong’s nails dug into his skin, but he immediately slowed his fingers down.  He glanced down at the elder in concern before gently connecting their lips.

Taeyong moaned into Kun’s mouth, rolling his hips against the younger’s fingers. Kun’s fingers were longer than Taeyong’s own and felt absolutely incredible.

It was taking everything in Kun’s power to not speed up his fingers, but he didn’t want to hurt Taeyong.  Slowly he pushed in a third finger, while keeping an eye on Taeyong. Soon enough, he had sufficiently stretched the elder and slowly pulled out his fingers.  Kun lined himself up with Taeyong’s entrance, but hesitated.

Taeyong felt Kun hesitate. “We don’t have to,” he said softly, brushing Kun’s hair to the side, “we can stop if you don’t want to finish, Kunnie, it’s okay.”

“No, I-I want this,” Kun panted, “I want you.”  He hid his head in Taeyong’s neck. He really did want this, he was just terrified he wouldn’t live up to the elder’s expectations.

“Then what are you waiting for?” Taeyong asked, running a hand through Kun’s sweaty hair. “Kunnie, you have to tell me what’s wrong.”

“I’m scared,” Kun mumbled, “I don’t want to disappoint you.”  He couldn’t bring himself to look at Taeyong, and kept his head tucked into his neck.

“I haven’t gotten laid in well over a year, Kun-ah,” Taeyong said with a small smile. His boyfriend was so sweet. “ _ Nothing _ you could do right now would disappoint me.”

Kun untucked his head from Taeyong’s neck and looked down at the elder.  He took a deep breath and lined himself up again and slowly pushed in. He sat there, giving Taeyong time to adjust.

Taeyong gasped and moaned when Kun finally pushed into him. His cock wasn’t particularly long but it was on the thicker side, and it felt so perfect inside Taeyong. After a moment, he slowly rolled his hips down against Kun’s.

Kun groaned when Taeyong began to move his hips. He leaned down to kiss the elder again and began to move his own hips, gradually increasing his speed.

Taeyong panted against Kun’s lips, letting himself be shunted up the bed. He wrapped his legs around Kun’s waist, urging him to fuck him harder.

Kun moaned into Taeyong’s mouth and snapped his hips into the elder. He kept up his rough pace as he reached in between their sweaty bodies to take hold of Taeyong’s cock again.

Taeyong whimpered when Kun took hold of his cock again. He could feel himself reaching the edge again and his hips bucked violently. He moved his head and latched onto the junction of Kun’s neck and shoulder, intent on leaving a mark of his own.

Kun gasped when Taeyong bit into his neck.  He felt his hips stutter, but quickly regained his pace.  He stroked his hand up and down Taeyong’s shaft in time with his thrusts.  “I-I’m close,” he panted.

A small gasp left Taeyong’s mouth every time the head of Kun’s cock dragged over his prostate. He was so close to coming,  _ so close _ .

A few more sharp thrusts sent Kun over the edge and he let out a low moan as he came.  He panted heavily as he slowed his hips down and continued to stroke his hand up and down.

Taeyong felt the warm wetness of Kun’s release hit his walls and it sent him barreling over the edge with a loud moan. Come painted his and Kun’s stomachs in sloppy strokes.

Kun panted as he rode out his high and sat there for a moment before slowly pulling out.  He kissed Taeyong gently and slipped off the bed to head to the bathroom. Kun quickly wiped himself off before returning to the bedroom with a wet cloth.  He climbed back onto the bed and began to clean up his boyfriend.

Taeyong whined when Kun pulled out, panting as he laid sprawled across the bed. He felt so good, so sated and full. If it was up to him, he would tell Kun to hold off on cleaning them up, but they were still too new for that. Just being with his boyfriend was enough; they could do the kinky stuff later.

After cleaning up Taeyong, Kun threw the cloth onto the pile of his discarded clothes.  He cuddled up to the elder and slowly traced his finger over the tattoo on Taeyong’s right hip.  “I really like this one, hyung,” he said softly.

Taeyong smiled softly at Kun, tilting his head to see his boyfriend better. “I want to add onto it,” he said, “cover my entire thigh and hip if I can. It’s great for managing stress though.”

Kun hummed, “That would be really hot.”  He couldn’t help the blush that crept across his face.  Kun kept his eyes down and continued tracing the tattoo. “What would you get next?” he asked as he finally looked up.

“Something on my chest probably,” Taeyong said. He reached down, fiddling with Kun’s hair absently.

Kun hummed again and pressed himself closer to Taeyong.  He closed his eyes and tilted his head into Taeyong’s hand.  It felt so nice just to lay together and Kun couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face.  “What’s the deal with Johnny and Ten?” he asked quietly. Kun hadn’t had a chance to ask Ten himself, but he knew Taeyong would know.

“It’s...complicated,” Taeyong said, “because they slept together and Yuta stopped talking to Johnny for a bit. He’s been in love with Johnny forever, so it was really rough on him. And because they’re  _ both _ idiots, Johnny’s been hung up on him too, but he refuses to acknowledge it. So he and Ten were going on dates and whatnot and Ten picked up on the fact that Johnny’s in love with Yuta, because it’s really fucking obvious. They had a  _ really _ long talk about it and now they’re both trying to convince Yuta to do the polyamory thing.” Just thinking about the whole thing gave Taeyong a headache. His friends were a disaster.

“Ah, yeah that sounds like quite a mess,” Kun wasn’t surprised Ten had managed to get himself wrapped up in the middle of Johnny and Yuta.  “Ten has quite the way of getting what he wants so I’m sure he’ll have Yuta wrapped around his finger in no time,” he added.

“Yuta’s just scared. He gets really anxious about being left out or left behind, so Johnny basically picking Ten after one night over Yuta after two years really did a number on his self esteem,” Taeyong explained. Once the three of them really sat down and talked, they would be okay, but it could be a while before Yuta let that happen.

“Oh poor Yuta. I’ll have a conversation with Ten when I see him again.” Kun said as he stifled a yawn.  He hoped the three of them were able to work everything out, they would be cute together.

“Is it naptime?” Taeyong said, teasing only a little. He kept moving his fingers through Kun’s hair. He could stand to take a nap right now. After what they just done, he was absolutely wiped.

“If you keep playing with my hair it’s gonna be,” Kun said as he shifted on the bed so that he could tuck his head into Taeyong’s neck.  He stopped tracing Taeyong’s tattoo so that he could wrap his arm around the elder.

“Should I stop?” Taeyong asked, not stopping. It would be cute to see Kun fall asleep from something like this. Usually Taeyong passed out first and never had the chance to see his boyfriend in his most natural state.

Kun quietly mumbled a “no” into Taeyong’s neck.  He sighed contently and drifted off to sleep, happily snuggled into his boyfriend’s side.


End file.
